Wolf Rider
by xSweetEternityx
Summary: HIATUS -AxC Tired of being an experiment, I fled. Being found wounded in a forest, a girl took me in and cared for me. As I stayed with her, I grew close to her, but I couldn't tell her what I was due to fear that she will drive me away.
1. Athrun

**A/N: Hello new readers and old readers! This is my fifth work which is also a fic for all AthrunxCagalli fans (including me as well). Like my last fic (Silent Whispers), this fic also uses supernatural stuff, so things that usually don't occur in real life. Though, instead of having a ghost that follows you everywhere, this time it's about someone who has wolf DNA inserted into him ever since he was an infant and thus was used as an experimental subject against his will. But no longer will he stand for it! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story.**

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**Wolf Rider**

**(AthrunxCagalli Fic)**

**Summary: Tired of being treated as an experiment, I fled as far as I could go. Being found wounded in a forest, a blond girl took me in and cared for me until I was back to my health. As I stayed with her, I grew close to her, but my secret still remained buried deep within me of fear that she would drive me away if she knew what I truly was.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD nor the characters.**

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**Chapter 1: Athrun**

_I can't take this any longer! Those people think it is enjoyable to insert needles and wires into your body for what they call 'scientific research'. I am a living being, not a test subject! _I thought furiously as I panted heavily from the last experiment they had put me through. I was neither human nor was I a wolf, but the blood that runs in me is a mixture of both. Ever since I was born, a needle was inserted into me with wolf DNA and thus ever since, I was held in this cell and was treated like an experiment. _But this is the last time that I will see these white walls around me; I'm going to escape._

Everything was already planned out. These humans came three times a day at a precise time to feed us and when they come, which should be very soon, I would be able to break free and leave this filthy place. My emerald eyes shifted towards the white cell door, which bore an enormous crack. When I was younger, I tried numerous times to escape, but to only end in fail. As I grew older, my strength increased dramatically and was able to weaken my surroundings. For the past few months, I was tame, leading the scientists to believe that I had finally accepted the fact that I would be an experiment until the day I die, but little do they know is that I am now much confident that I could break down that cell door, which was the only object preventing my freedom.

My body became tense as with my sharp hearing, I heard the light tapping of footsteps approaching my door. I swallowed as the footsteps stopped in front of my door and the beeping of the lock being deactivated as the key card was slotted through. As soon as the cell door opened the smallest fraction, I charged at the opening, giving me the element of surprise.

The cell keeper yelled out in surprise as my form, which just became a wolf-like creature landed on him, knocking the breath out of him. The yell echoed down the hall, alerting others that there was something unusual going on and the voices told me that I didn't have much time to lose. I got off the fallen cell keeper and took off down the hall, passing many other cells. I heard my cellmates calling out to me, wanting to escape to freedom as well, but I kept going without stopping. _Sorry guys... this time I will succeed in escaping, if that is the last thing I do._ I thought apologetically as I raced down the cell hall. As I was about to turn the corner, with my enhanced senses, I saw other cell keepers yell out orders as they saw me arrive.

They were armed with tranquilizer guns that were meant to put special creatures like me to sleep with two or three shots, but I wasn't going to let myself be caught when I took the trouble to escape. Running as fast as I could, I leapt high into the air, dodging the first string of tranquilizer shots. Next, using my weight as a near-full-grown wolf, I was able to knock down one of the men in white outfits, making the others jump back. In a flash of a second I whipped my tail around knocking the rest down, unabling them for a moment before I took off once more.

Shots were being made behind me, but as I raced on, they slowly decreased. No mere human could match a four-legged beast such as I. Just before I thought there were no more men after me, someone sounded the alarm. The noise echoed loudly in my ears. Having enhanced hearing was useful at times, but for the rest of the time, it was also a nuisance. I paused in my escapade as I shook my head roughly, trying to get the noise out of my head. Even though I only stopped for a second, it seems that it was enough time for the humans to catch up. I was surrounded on both sides; front and back. I panted heavily as I took notice of my surroundings. I couldn't advance forwards nor could I retreat either. "Give it up #00530, there's no way out," the one who seemed in charge called out loudly.

I narrowed my eyes at him as possibilites of escaping crossed my mind in an instant. There was a very small chance that I would be able to get out of this situation without a few injuries. I decided to take that chance. Taking a few steps forward, I leapt into the air once more. But the only difference this time was that I changed back into my human form. I expertly slammed my heel down onto the heal of the one in charge and pushed the others out of my way. Before I was able to change back into my wolf form, one of the keepers shot his tranquilizer gun accurately, which just grased the side of my arm. I winced for a second before changing forms again.

By now, the other keepers were back on their feet and onto my trail. I ran for my life, dodging the bullets that wizzed past me. Even though the previous shot only grazed me slightly, I could feel the drug going deeper into my skin. _Damn... don't fail now! You're almost there! _I yelled inaudibly at myself as I turned another corner. There was only one keeper there, but they were also armed. This time, as my movements and reactions were slower, they got a direct hit with the tranquilizer gun. I felt the pain as the needle pierced my arm and the drug that also released.

My vision became slightly blurry and even though I shook my head to clear it, it was cleared temporarily. Seeing that I couldn't go out the regular way, I had to make my own exit. As the keeper was reloading the tranquilizer gun, I charged forcefully at the wall. Usually, if I was at full health, I would have been smash through that thin wall as easily as I had busted through my cell. The first resulted in a large crack in the wall. Finally, on my second charge at the wall, the wall gave in and crumbled. By then, the keeper was nearly done reloading as I ran for it.

I panted heavily as I made my way downhill. Since the laboratory was on a mountain, I was greeted by countless timber trees that blocked my path. My mind was fighting desperately to remain consious as I knew the drug was begining to take effect on me. But luckily, due to my immense size, the drug would take a longer time getting through than it would on smaller creatures. I felt extremely tired and felt the urge to stop and sleep, but I slammed my head into a tree, trying to remain awake. _I cannot fall into the hands of those humans again because if I do, I will never see anything other than the whiteness of my cell._ I thought.

I continued my escapade as I raced through the forest, trying to put as much distance as I could between myself and the lab. I didn't know how far I've gone, but by now, I knew that I was far enough from the laboratory and slowed my pace slightly. I trudged along slowly, catching my breath and observing my surroundings around me.

I had spent my whole life surrounded by the whiteness of my cell walls and noticing for the first time, I realised that the world was filled with color. The greeness of the trees that filled this forest, the brightness of the sun that shown down on me; it was truly beautiful. I gave a laugh of joy, since I was no longer captured by the humans and continued to race through the forest.

I needed to find a suitable place for me to lie down since I could still feel the effects of the drug slowly taking over me. Then as I moved, the soft breeze brushed past my slim figure, bring the scent of delicious fresh meat lingering nearby. I changed my direction and moved much faster. I had not eaten since this morning due to my escapade, so I was on an empty-stomach. I knew I was getting closer because as I moved, the aroma of fresh meat grew so strong that I could almost taste it in my mouth.

As I approached the clearing, I spotted the fresh meat lying on the ground and I ran for it. Then without warning, a steel metallic sound clasped tightly around my leg, digging in deep into my flesh. I let out a loud yelp of surprise and pain as I felt that I couldn't move my body. I looked downwards to see a steel trap with a set of jagged teeth clamped tightly around my leg. I shook my body furiously, trying to get free, but it was no use. Pain shot up my leg as I struggled, making me pant heavily. _Damn! I can't believe I fell for such an obvious trap._ I thought furiously. _I was finally able to escape and now, I'll be caught by humans once more!_

I studied the trap carefully, looking for any way to break free when I heard a soft rustle in the bushes. I became tense as I realised that I was a sitting duck for whoever or whatever that was coming towards me. The rustling of the bushes ceased as into the clearing stepped a young half-grown human girl. She was little much more than just a human child. Her blond hair glowed brightly as she moved forward towards me. I bared my teeth at her, warning her not to get close, but she ignored my warning. By now, she was a mere inches from my body as she reached out her arm slowly.

I growled loudly despite the pain I was in. She, like all the other humans will take me back and put me into captivity, destroying my hopes of freedom. The girl's hand paused for a moment as her amber eyes were looking straight into mine. "Look, wolf, do you want to stay here until the hunters come and skin you? Or do you want my help and let you go?" she said with a raised eyebrow.

My growls grew softer and softer as I began to comprehend that she wanted to help me. The girl smiled. "I thought so too," she said. "Now, don't move until I get this thing off you okay?"

My emerald eyes watched her every movement carefully as I saw her move one arm to one side of the trap and the other arm to the other side. There, I saw her forcefully press down on both buttons at the same time which caused the metal trap to spring open. Surprised, I gently lifted my back leg out of the trap and out of danger. The girl stood up and smiled with sastifaction written across her face. "See? Feels better to get that leg out of that trap huh?" she said as she took a few steps towards me.

I tensed my body as she bent down, eye-level with me. _What is she doing? _Was a question that I really wanted to ask. The girl reached into her pocket and took out a red bandana. Next she reached carefully over my injuried leg and tied it firmly, yet gently over the parts where the metal trap had dug into the flesh. "There! Don't remove it until your wounds recover, alright?" the girl said as she stood back up. "You should be more careful around these areas. The demand for wolves have been quite high these days, so I advise you to get out of this region as soon as possible," she added with a nod.

I blinked as I looked over the strange girl carefully. _First she helps me and now she advises me to get out of here, huh?_ I thought with a hint of amusement. _First human to not fear me.._ I looked straight into her firey eyes for a moment before I turned around and walked away. As I moved farther and farther into the forest, I turned my head back towards the clearing to see that the strange blond girl was no longer there. My breathing was ragid as I knew that I couldn't stay awake for much longer. _I have to find a place to shelter... the drug is taking its toll..._ I thought groggily as I knew that I would be out by any minute.

I came across a river, which was where I decided to stop. I sipped some fresh water, trying to remain awake, but it was no use. _I'm so tired... a short nap won't hurt... would it?_ Those were my thoughts before a blanket of darkness covered me.

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I was still in my world of darkness when I felt something warm fan against my face. I groaned as I raised my arm to block the heat from coming upon my cheek. I opened one eye sleepily. My vision was unfocused at first, but within a few moments, I realised that I was no longer in the forest. I sat up immediately. _Where am I?_ I asked myself as I looked at my surroundings. I was sitting next to a warm fire that was held in a stone place. I was sitting on the large rug that laid down on a wooden floor. The walls around me were also wooden. "So, you're awake, I presume," said a familar voice.

My eyes focused onto a familar blond girl as she closed the door behind her and came towards me. I blinked as I recalled that this girl was the same girl from this afternoon. Panickly, I felt my torso and my head with my hands to realise that I was in my human form and not the wolf form that this girl had seen earlier. "W-what is this place?" I asked carefully, my voice was just above a whisper.

The girl smiled as she sat down next to me. I backed off slightly as I disliked the closeness between us. As I moved, I felt a pain shoot up my leg and winced. "I was coming home when I found you washed up next to my house, unconcious. As I came for a closer inspection, I saw that you had a large wound on your leg, so I hauled you back inside," she said with a small shrug. "I bandaged your leg, so you shouldn't be moving a lot,"

I looked at her strangely. This was the second time she saved my life. As I tried to recall what was happening before I lost conciousness, I remembered that I was drinking water. The closest possibility for me to having end up here was that I most likely fell into the water and then drifted downstream. I breathed heavily as I realised how slim the chances were that I would have survived in the water, since my limp body was most likely to have drown if I had not been washed up near the house. "I see.." I said as I moved my body into a better position with my hands.

"Your clothes were soaked so I removed your t-shirt and your jacket to be placed to dry," the girl added as she nodded to the clothes which laid down a few inches away from me in front of the fire. "How do you feel now? You've been sleeping heavily for the majority of the day,"

"Better than before, I guess," I said quietly.

"I'm rather curious... where are you from?" the girl asked as she brought her knees together.

I blinked as I thought of the laboratory, but I couldn't tell her that. "I don't know really.." I said as I looked into the blazing fire. "The place where I came from isn't a place fit for someone like me,"

The girl cocked her head to one side as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Even though it looked as if she wanted to press on the matter but then decided against it. "If you have no place to go, you can stay here with me in this house. I used to live here with my brother, but he was went overseas, so feel free to stay as long as you like," she said with a smile.

My emerald eyes shifted towards the girl. It was still too soon for me to trust a human after being in the laboratory for such a long time, but there was something different about this girl. She seemed quite kinder than the evil ones that enjoy torturing me. "What is your name?" I asked as my eyes met hers.

"Cagalli Yula Athha, but everyone just calls me Cagalli," the girl replied. "And you? What is yours?" she asked.

I lowered my eyes to the ground as I just realised that I had no real name. In the laboratory, I was referred to as '#00530', as a thing, an experiment that isn't worth of having a name. "I don't have one," I answered as I turned my face away from her.

The girl, Cagalli looked surprised with the nameless me but her face changed from surprise to thoughtfulness. "Hey, then could I give you a name myself?" she asked.

I turned to face her. I didn't really care whether she chose to familarize herself with me or not. "I don't care," I replied.

Cagalli grinned as she said, "Okay then, I'll call you Athrun,"

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**A/N: Here's some Q/A's that you might have had in mind when you were reading:**

**Q: How come when Cagalli brought 'Athrun' to her house, he had clothes on him? Does that mean when he's a wolf, he also has clothes on?**

**A: When Athrun is a wolf, all he has is thick fur, but since he's part human part wolf, whenever he changes back into a human, the clothes he wore _before_ he changed into a wolf will stay on him. (Cool eh?)**

**Q: This story seems similar to Wolf's Rain... is the story line going to be similar?**

**A: I did take the 'changing forms' idea from Wolf's Rain, but the idea in that series was the the wolves' human disguise was more like an illusion because when one reached out their hand to grab another (who's falling) it was actually their mouths grabbing onto the scruff (of the neck) of the other wolf. The storyline there was placed in the time where the world was thrown into poverty and seemed like the world was going to end, but here, the time era is completely different, in other words, it's a modern story.**

**Q: When Athrun escaped into the forest (in his wolf form), he talked about seeing the world in color. But shouldn't dogs, wolves etc. be colorblind?**

**A: Even when Athrun is a wolf, he has his human senses. So basically that means that he can see in color and comprehend human speech when he is a wolf. When Athrun is in human form, he is like every other human except for his enhanced hearing, vision and smell. Athrun prefers his human form, since it makes him blend in with human environment, but changes into a wolf when he needs to travel quickly.**

**Well those were some of the questions I thought that maybe you would have had, but if you have more, don't hesitate to ask! I hope the plot doesn't seem _too_ boring for the first chapter and I hope you'll continue to my next chapter when I update! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Outcast

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all of those reviews on my first chapter! I was really happy and decided to keep going because of all of the support I've gotten. Procrastination has taken its toll after a month and I finally decided to sit down and get this chapter typed out and posted. Good news, I'm done all of my exams and now my summer is free! (with the exception of advancement courses in summer school). But at least my afternoons will be free and I get one course done. I thought this chapter was quite thick in atmosphere, but tell me what you think**

**Disclaimer: I don't own GS/GSD.**

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**Chapter 2: Outcast**

I glanced around the room in darkness as my eyes adjusted automatically. _"Would you prefer to stay in my brother's room for now? I mean, the bed is much more comfortable than the rug,"_ Cagalli had asked earlier.

I didn't care either way, since I would not be staying for too long, so I agreed and was now placed into her brother's room. On the wooden dresser sat multiple photos of Cagalli and her brother. The brother whose room I am currently in. His eyes looked sincere, like those of her sister, but also, they seemed to be naive. Naturally, any human with their natural instincts would warn them to stay away from me, even if it is their first time seeing me, but this girl either didn't notice or chose to ignore them. The pale moonlight shown down through the window and onto the bed, alighting the spot that I was in.

I raised my arm, the arm that was grazed by the tranquilizer gun and watched my wound as it slowly begun to close in the moonlight. The wound was small to begin with, so it closed quite rapidly. As I glanced down towards my leg, which was caught by the bear trap, and frowned. This wound was much larger and deeper. I would need more time to let it heal before I could move on. At least just until the full moon, where I would be at my strongest.

In the laboratory, the room where I stayed in was un-naturally lit all year long, so being in the darkness for once seemed very comforting. I grimanced as my thoughts turned towards the laboratory.

_A place where animal DNA is inserted into a newborn, thus creating us who are not able to call ourselves one thing or another. Tests were always being made on us; seeing how fast we can react, our speed, our strength, and how fast we can grow. For that purpose, we were allowed to live. Having test tubes and wires inserted into your body, regardless how much pain one would suffer. Making one fight against their will against another of our own until the strongest remains. And the man that was in charge of everything was..._

_My Father..._

My face darkened as I thought of him. Sometime shortly after my birth, after my DNA was changed, he was the one who had killed my mother, since there was no use for her anymore. Some father he was; he never thought of me as a son, not at all. I was only another one of his rare experiments, the ones that were strong enough to survive the change in our DNA. Who knew how many lives were destroyed by that one man? Far too many, is what I knew.

Are we allowed to live, so that we could remain imprisonned for the rest of our lives? Some life that was. I grimanced as I thought of my escapade earlier. As I had passed down many cells, I could hear my cellmates whimper and beg for me to release them as well. They also wanted freedom, but unlike me, they did not have strength to do so.

There was something that the humans called the Pyramid of Strength. In that pyramid were 5 levels of creatures. The lowest of the pyramid consisted of the dogs, which were common. Those who are dogs could not manage to maintain the higher level of wolf DNA, and thus became lower beings. The next level were those who have regular wolf DNA. These beings were similar to their wild cousins who lived in forests and mountains, so as well, they were quite plentiful. Only about a handful of Noble Wolves exist in the lab. These beings have far surpassed the expectations of the regular wolf and their strength increases immensively over time compared to the lower two.

The Dire Wolves have very few numbers, myself included are considered the strongest of the pyramid since the highest, the only Werewolf DNA is still under progress and the suitable human is needed to be found before they could use it. Dire wolves are much faster and stronger than those of the pyramid and we also have the ability to heal under the moonlight. Another noticeable thing is that we are much, much larger than a regular wolf.

A small grin flickered across my face as I knew that since I was one of the top creatures of the pyramid, there was no way anyone could defeat me. So basically, I was king. A ghost of a smile flickered across my face as I knew that anyone with a rank lower than my own cannot defeat me as they are. _One day, when I can become stronger than I am now, I will tear down that laboratory with my own hands and release everyone.._ I swore silently to myself. _Then no one would ever have to go through what we 'experiments' have been through ever again._

_One day, everyone will be free..._

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_Sometime later.._ A gentle knock woke my peaceful slumber as a voice called out, "Athrun! You awake?"

I opened my eyes for a slight moment before shutting them tightly due to the morning sun shining down upon me. "Yeah," I replied groggily as I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"I'm coming in, 'kay?" said Cagalli, but without waiting for a reply, she did so anyway.

Cagalli grinned brightly as I stared at her energetic-ness. "Morning, Athrun. Did you sleep well?" she asked.

I gave a small movement of my head as I dragged my feet off the bed and onto the floor. "Well that's good, I have breakfast made, would you like some?" she asked as I looked at her with indifference.

"I'm not the best cook, but I can cook enough to get by, so now, do you want some or do you not?" Cagalli asked again as she raised an eyebrow at me.

I sighed, truthfully, I was pretty hungry, since it was a while since my last meal and relunctually nodded. "Meet you out into the living room then," said the girl as she exited the room and closed the door behind her.

I eyed the door with a small frown upon my face. _This girl is definitely a strange one... never before have I met such a creature with so much energy... Afterall, all of the scientists back at the laboratory locked away their emotions so all that they spoke came out in monotone..._ I thought as I looked down at my injured leg.

It healed somewhat due to the clear moonlight from last night, so I could limp slightly. I slowly made my way across the room as I got dressed in my now-dry clothes and exited the room. As I came upon the dining table, I noticed that there was a plate of bacon, sausages and eggs on both sides of the table. I watched Cagalli carefully as I sat down slowly. "I wasn't sure what type of food you'd like, so I just made western food. I hope you don't mind," she said with a shrug.

I eyed my food carefully. Several times a week, the scientists would drug the food given to those who were less obedient so that they would follow commands without fail. I, for one was drugged a few times during my childhood, but by now, I knew that I could never trust humans. "What's wrong? It's not poisonned or anything, y'know," said Cagalli with a raised eyebrow.

I looked to her for a slight moment before giving in. I took the fork and poked my sausage. Then I slowly brought it up to my mouth and gave a small lick. The taste was salty, but I guess that was normal for sausages. Back at the laboratory, sausages were rare and were only given for special treatment. Then I slowly took a small bite and chewed carefully, tasting for any poison or drugs at all. I was slightly surprised at the regular taste of a normal sausage without any drugs.

The food in the laboratory was occasionally drugged for those who weren't as obedient. When I was younger, the food I always had was unusually sweet and mouth watering, which made my mind fuzzy after consuming it. Then later on, I became wiser and became more obedient to gain the trust of these humans. "Well, what do you think?" Cagalli asked as she scanned my face carefully.

My gaze directed to her. "It is good," I said shortly as I began to eat at a faster pace, now knowing that the food was safe.

Cagalli grinned. "Well that's good; at least someone appreciates my cooking, for surely, my own brother, Kira, doesn't," she said as she also began to eat.

I paused eating for a fraction of a second. _Right... Kira is that guy whose room I am currently staying in. If I remembered correctly, she said that her brother was overseas..._ "What about your parents?" I spoke as I remembered seeing no other faces other than the girl in front of me.

"They died,"

I stared at the girl as she continued to eat without it bothering her by much. "Oh sorry," I replied, not knowing what to say.

Cagalli paused as she gave a shrug. "Don't apologize. It's not like you killed them; they were killed by wolves," she said as a tint of bitterness lit her voice.

I continued to look at the girl. These forests were the perfect territory for wolves and for someone such as I, but why would anyone want to continue to live here if they had bad past experiences? Cagalli must have guessed what I was thinking because she said, "I'm staying here because this was the last thing that belonged to my parents, so I live here alone with my brother,"

"I see," I replied as I began to finish my breakfast.

Cagalli pushed her chair back and stood up. "I think I'm low on groceries, so I'll be going into the town that's about a fifteen minute walk away. Would you like to come?" she asked as she gathered our plates.

I shook my head; getting close with too many humans at once was not my idea of a joy ride. "Okay, I'll see you later then," she said as she placed the dishes in the sink and headed towards the door. "Oh, by the way, feel free to do whatever you want; I'm not holding you prisonner here," said Cagalli as she gave a smile and left.

The wooden door closed with a soft bang and I was left alone. _I'm not holding you prisonner..._ she had said. Does that mean that I could leave whenever I wanted to? If I left, where would I go? At the least, I should take a look around my territory and find a suitable place for an alternative.

I then also stepped outside, greeted by the brightness of the sunlight. It was very warm, a very natural warm. I glanced all around to make sure that no one was watching and when I was sastified, I began to run. As I ran, I became faster and faster as I took on my wolf form once more. It really did feel great to be free; I could feel the gentle breeze brush past me as I ran through the forest, dodging trees. Finally, as soon as I saw that I was far enough from the cabin, I slowed down to a walk.

As I came closer to where they were, the animals scattered immediately, sensing my appearance. A small smile flickered across my face as I knew that hardly anyone would dare to oppose me. Then as I continued my stroll, I heard a low growl in the distance. My head turned immediately towards the east as I sensed the wavering aura of fear in the air. I decided to check things out and broke into a run once more. The growl was unlike that I have heard so far. It seemed powerful and menacing. _Might be a good opponent to test out my strength.._ I decided as I came closer and closer towards the mountains.

As I came into view, I saw a young wolf, someone younger than I against a creature that I haven't seen before; it was a very large wild cat. It was much bigger than the young wolf, and was nearly the same size that I was. It's eyes were menacing and looked like the creature thirsted to kill the wolf in front of him. And the wolf? He was trying to stay strong in front of his enemy, but even I could sense his tremors of fear going through his body. _"You're unlikely to win,"_ I warned.

Both pairs of eyes cast in my direction. They widened for a second before narrowing. _"Shut up! This is my fight!"_ the young wolf growled. _"After I'm done with him, you're next,"_ the cat announced.

I stood a few yards away from the fight as I watched the young wolf charge at the cat. _Stupid, if you charge first, then your opponent will know how to defend against your attack. Especially if they're stronger than you are._ I thought as the cat sidestepped and then swiped at the young wolf, just grazing the pup's shoulder. The young wolf winced as he backed off. When he retreated a step, the cat took this chance to attack. _It's over... the boy will die..._ the thought went through my head as I watched the battle in what it seemed to be in slow motion.

I thought of how the pup reminded me so much of the wolves I've came to befriend back at the laboratory. We were good friends, we grew up together. They were the only ones who could understand how I felt for ditching that horrible place, afterall, they also had gone through the same proceedure. We did a lot together, since my friends were only a level below me. However, when I had my escapade, I couldn't save any of them; I could barely even save myself.

As I looked at the young wolf, I thought of how many wolves have died in the laboratory; those who could not handle the changement of their DNA, or losing a battle. If I had the power to defend anymore wolves from being killed, I would use it._ I decided; I was going to save this pup._ In one quick flash, I pushed my powerful legs with all my might and rammed into the cat, before it reached the pup. The cat was pushed back several paces before it realized that I was the one who rammed into it. The cat snarled, _"Fine, I can take you both out at the same time,"_

I eyes narrowed. _"Don't get so cocky, cat. Fight someone your own size," _ I growled.

The cat lunged at me as I got into position. As the cat came closer, I ducked at the last second, tucking my head underneath the creature's stomach. I felt the cat's claws go into my back, but I forced my head up powerfully to send the cat of its feet for a moment. The cat yowled out in surprise as it sailed through the air and landed painfully on its back against the rocky cliffs. _"Still want to continue?" _I asked as the cat struggled to get onto its feet.

The cat spat at me, glaring hatefully at me before turning. _"You win this time, but I swear, I'll knock that smirk off your face the next time either of you trespass onto my territory,"_ it warned.

As I saw the back of the retreating creature, I couldn't help but feel proud of my achievement. It seemed so far that no one could defeat me. _"Shinn!" _ another voice called out from below.

I turned my head to see another gray wolf approaching quickly. _"R-rey?"_ the wolf pup asked from behind.

This approaching wolf seemed slightly larger than this boy that I saved, but was still younger than a full grown male. _"Get away from Shinn!"_ he hissed as he stood a few meters away from me.

I raised my eyebrows._ "Quite a lot of guts you have there, telling someone much bigger than you what to do," _ I said.

The wolf remained silent, but tense.The smaller wolf pup bounded between the two of us. _"Rey! Cut it out. This guy doesn't mean any harm, actually it was the opposite; he saved my life from that mountain lion,"_ he reasonned.

_So that was a mountain lion,_ I noted. The slightly older wolf known as Rey shook his head. _"Look at him! He's not the average wolf; he's a monster,"_ he argued._ "He could easily kill you or I in oneshot. Have you ever comsidered that maybe he saved you so that he could eat you afterwards? Haven't your instincts told you to stay away from a being like him? So why are you defending him?"_

I gritted my teeth. As much as those words stung, I couldn't say anything, afterall, they were true; I was a monster. _"He can't be that bad if he saved me, I mean he even warned me to get away before he stood in," _the younger pup, Shinn protested._ "We should invite him to join our pack,"_

Rey snapped his teeth angrily. _"You're naive, Shinn. There's lots of things that you don't understand. Someone like him,"_ he turned his head towards me. _"Could never be one of us. He doesn't know what fear is. It isn't natural. Let's go; your grandfather is getting worried about your whereabouts,"_ he said as he turned his body in the direction of the forest.

Shinn was about to protest again, but seeing Rey's dark expression, Shinn kept quiet and could only follow after. As for me, I descended from the mountains. As soon as I came into the forest, my form changed once again into a human. A bitter smile crossed my face. "I can never really belong anywhere, can I?" I said quietly. "Not even with my own kind,"

As I began my long walk, I thought about a lot of things that wolf, Rey had said. _He could easily kill you or I in oneshot. ...Haven't your instincts told you to stay away from a being like him?_ Just by appearance alone, I could scare off pretty much any lesser being. They could sense my strength just by being nearby. No one wanted to be within 5 feet of me. _Someone like him could never be one of us..._ So, I was an outcast; it was clear. I had no pack, no friends and no place to go. _Is being free such a good thing afterall? If one is to be shunned by its own kind? _I couldn't find an answer. Being free had its benefits, including no torture and as much space as you wanted, but there was a downside as well; it was lonely. As I made my way, eventually, I found myself to be back at that log cabin where I had spent last night. I hesitated before going in. _Would that girl shun me as well? _I asked myself. _Would it matter if another did so?_ I shook my head; no it wouldn't, after all of those who've kept their distance, another wouldn't matter afterall.

* * *

**A/N: The ending of this chapter seemed very sad, but I'm trying to build up the plot line. Cagalli didn't really appear much in this chapter, but I promise that the next chapter will have more of her (because the next chapter will be done in her POV). I think the story seems a little slow, but hopefully, I'll get things to go a little faster, once I get the main ideas done. **

**I think you may have noticed, but when Athrun is talking in animal form with other animals, the font is in _italic._ And so are his thoughts as well. So I guess that'll be easier to distinguish whether he's in animal form or not. Please tell me what you think of the story so far and if there's anything that should be changed or made more clear. Thanks!**


	3. Cagalli

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks for all of those reviews on my previous chapter! I'm glad to get your opinions on my newest fic! There were some details that I forgot to think more clearly about (big thanks to Hades.Throne.Heiress), but now I found a solution to your question. It may not sound that convincing to you readers, but for me, what I wrote in Cagalli's thoughts (about half way through the chapter) is something that I always believed in, and it was the first time saying (writing) something like that to public, so I hope you'll tell me if it doesn't sound right.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed nor Destiny.**

**Just a reminder, this chapter focuses on _CAGALLI's Point of View_, so please don't get confused)**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Cagalli**

"_Father! You're finally home!" I cried out as the familar figure of my father stepped through the door way._

_My father picked me up and held me on his side. "Yes I am and I will be for now on," he said as I wrapped my arms around his neck._

_Kira also came up to greet him from the kitchen. "What do you mean? Don't you like working in that laboratory?" he asked as I frowned at him._

"_Isn't it better this way? That means father will have more time to spend with us," I said as I thought Kira was being wierd._

_Kira frowned. "I never said I didn't want father to be home, but that still doesn't answer my question of why you're be here instead of the laboratory from now on," he said._

_Father set me down carefully as he ruffled Kira's hair. "I resigned. Apparently I didn't like what was going on in that place, so I left," he said._

_I blinked. My father worked as a scientist in the neighboring city, but other than that, I didn't know much about his job. "Something you didn't like?" Kira repeated, catching father's unique choice of words._

_Father smiled as Mother gave him a welcome-back kiss and patted Kira's head gently. "You shouldn't worry about things at such an early age; you'll lose your hair when you get older," he teased as he headed up the stairs. "Ah, I'm tired... I'm going up for a bath. Call me down when dinner's ready, okay?"_

_Mother returned back to the kitchen while my brother and I stood in the living room. I studied Kira carefully. He looked as though he was thinking hard. "What's wrong, Kira?" I questioned seeing his frown grow slightly larger._

_Kira's gaze dropped to my face. "I don't know, but Father's not telling us something... I think it has something to do with that laboratory," he said and he crossed his arms._

_I touched his arm gently. "Everyone has a secret or two they don't want others to know, right? I bet Father doesn't want you to think too much about it, so you should just let things drop," I said with a smile._

_Kira looked relunctant to drop the subject but then sighed. He gave me a smile as he nodded. "Alright, I won't think about it anymore," he said and patted my head. "Up for a game of tag in the woods?"_

_But Kira did have the right to worry, in fact, if I had been smarter, I would have been worried as well. Because only a few days later, my world turned upside down. It turned out that what Father didn't 'like' about what he saw was that human infants were being tested upon, using the DNA of animals. There were two parts of the facilty: studying of animal DNA (which Father did), and the usage of it. Lower scientists there were not allowed to visit the other facilities, because the whole laboratory was top secret. _

_One day, curiosity got the better of Father as he sneaked into the other facilty to see what the DNA was really used for. Accidentally, he had knocked over a file and as he bent down to pick it up, a glimpse told him everything. That file he knocked over contained the information on each experiment. Each sheet told him what child was being infused with animal DNA and at what level._

_Not being able to believe what he had read, Father wandered further into the lab and into the experimenting room. There, he saw a young boy chained in a wire prison. One of the scientists commanded the boy to change forms. The boy shook his head, disobeying his commands. But as he did so, the wire prison activated, sending volts through the chain and into the boy's body. Being unable to stand the excuriating pain, the boy did as he was told and changed forms in front of Father. Father fled immediately, but his presence in the forbiddened lab was not unknown, due to video cameras that saw his every movement._

_The project was top secret, so he had to be eliminated. Several days after Father came home, while he was outside, he noticed a small helicopter heading towards our home. Immediately, he knew; he was going to die. Father ran inside with an expression of fear upon his face that I have never seen in my 8 years of life. "Hide! They're after us!" he had cried as Mother's eyes widened with shock and fear._

_The sound of the propellers of the helicopter became louder as the helicopter landed. "What's going on?!" I cried out as Mother brushed Kira and I into one of the closets._

"_Don't come out of there, no matter what!" Mother commanded quickly._

_Kira hugged Mother tightly. "Please say you'll be okay, okay?" he whimpered as I, without knowing the situation also hugged Mother._

_Mother returned our hugs as she stroked our hair gently. "Be good and don't make a sound," she said as she released us and closed the closet._

_I felt the strong urge to go chase after her and take her hand, but Kira held me back. He shook his head as he tightened his hand around mine. Mother sprayed the room with air refreshener as the oak door burst open. A handful of men appeared with young children at their sides. "Ulen Hibiki, you are charged with the treason of trepassing onto one of our top facilities. Our project is top secret and thus since you've seen it, I must say, you and your family shall be killed," one of them said._

_Father was scared, but he showed a brave face. "You know what you people are doing is wrong! How can you use innocent children for your experimentation?!" he demanded, pointing a finger at one of the young boys at the mens' side. "You're destroying their lives! Each living being deserves the chance to survive, but what is the point of living if they're only needed for your cruel experiments?!"_

"_Silence!" one of the men shouted. "People like you could never understand the greatness of our project. We are creating the world of superior beings; those who are much more advanced than us. Who wouldn't want to be the best? There's no one, I assure you,"_

_Father stood closer to Mother. "Are they given the choice of having their DNA changed? From what I've seen, whether they wanted to or not, they don't have a choice! Numerous of your experimentations have failed thus leading to the death of these children!" Father cried out._

"_We may have not succeeded with our first few hundred, but now, we're creators of a new era! And you, my friend, are in our way," they said. "Go!"_

_The young boys looked relunctant but as they took out an electric whip, they cringed. I took a sharp intake as the boys changed forms; they became wolves. All together at once, they surrounded Mother and Father. Father took out a small hand gun, but it was useless against these creatures. Within less than a minute, I witnessed my parents' slaughter. "Mo-!" I wanted to cry out but Kira kept his hand firmly on my mouth, blocking my voice from coming out._

_Kira's hand shook as tears streamed down his face as well as mine. It was nearly impossible to withstand the bitterness we felt towards these people. As soon as we thought it was over, one of them commanded, "Search the house for any others! Kill any that you see,"_

_The wolves set off, some went upstairs and some went outside. Kira and I clung to each other in fear. 'Kira.. I'm scared' I wanted to say, but the words wouldn't come out. I buried my head into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me protectively. Just as the wolves returned to report there was nothing to find, a young wolf suddenly paused in front of our closet and he peered into the small crack. _

I sat up gasping, my body completely covered in cold sweat. I panted heavily as I placed a hand over my heart, feeling my pulse go 100 miles per hour. _I-it was only a dream! _I thought as my heart calmed down slightly. I got off my bed and went over to the bathroom to wash my face. _A dream of the past... it's been a long time since I had it..._ I thought as I glanced at my face in the mirror. I dried my face and then headed back to my bedroom. As I exited the washroom I saw a familar figure standing in the dark. I blinked. "Athrun? You're back," I said as I saw his emerald eyes glow faintly in the dark.

He said nothing as I approached him. "Are you hungry? You haven't eaten yet, have you?" I asked.

Athrun only shook his head as he brushed past me and headed towards Kira's room. As he closed the door slowly, I couldn't help but smile. I was sure that he wouldn't return here, but I was glad he did. Living alone in this house was lonely... but at least with another person, even if he didn't talk much, the house seemed a little brighter. I also made way to my room as I returned to my bed. However, I didn't sleep. I frowned, the death of my parents was something that was going to stay with me for the remainder of my life, afterall, no one forgets the scene of someone being murdered in front of their eyes. I smiled sadly, that day, if Kira had prevented me from jumping out, I would also be killed in an instant.

I looked up at the nearly-full moon as I thought of that wolf that saw us in the closet. _Why didn't he finish us off?_ I lost count of how many times I've asked myself this question. _It wouldn't have been too hard for him. It wasn't like he didn't see us, because we made eye contact..._ I thought. _Wolves usually have ember-colored eyes, but the wolf that peered into the closet had a pair of emerald ones... was it because he was part human?_ I sighed as I fell back down onto my bed as I then thought of the wolf that I had saved the other day.

_The two seemed similar somehow... though I didn't get a full look at the wolf from when I was 8 years old. _I thought. I had saved it without much hesitation despite my dark past. Most people would question my actions, but what I did, I thought it was noble. _Each living being deserves the chance to live... so if you have the power to save someone, do it. The feeling that you receive when you are able to help someone in need is great; much better than the feeling of regret that you didn't bother to save someone even when you could. That was something Father had always taught me._ I smiled as my eyes drifted towards the night sky. _Father, are you proud of me?_

* * *

_Next day.._ "Hey Athrun! Do you want to head down to the city? It's a gorgeous day," I said as I rapped on his door.

_No reply..._ "I think it'd be a good chance to get you more clothes since Kira took all of his when he left, so how about it?" I asked.

When there was no answer, I sighed as I turned the door knob. "I'm coming in," I said as I entered.

In the dark, where the blinds were still down, I saw a figure sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed with his knees brought up against his body. I pulled the blinds up, admitting sunlight into the room. I saw Athrun wince at the brightness but remained in the spot where he sat. I pulled his arm. "C'mon! Get up," I commanced as I tugged.

Athrun looked at me with his emerald eyes. They seemed sad somehow. I frowned. "You should visit the city, I mean it's nice to get out once in a while, okay?" I persisted as I continued to pull on his arm.

In the end, Athrun gave in as he allowed me to drag him into the city. Normally, I didn't like shopping, but at least this wasn't for me; it was for him. "What clothes do you prefer?" I asked as we entered a store.

Athrun shrugged. "Doesn't matter," he said indifferently.

I sighed, this guy was one of the hardest guys to get through. "Okay, I'll choose a few and then you pick the ones that you like, okay?" I said as I raised an eyebrow.

Athrun nodded once, so I went to work. Money wasn't the problem since the fortune that my parents owned still remained and also, I didn't spend an enormous ammount on anything else other than food. I looked around the store and picked up a few items that I thought would suit him. They were mostly casual clothing like jeans, casual jacket etc, since they ressembled to what Athrun wore, so I thought that he preferred those types of clothing.

"Here, try these and then come out when you're done," I said nodded over to the changeroom.

Athrun quietly took them out of my arms and walked towards the changerooms. _Athrun still seems quite out of it... he wasn't like that yesterday morning. Sure, he isn't the talkative type, but at least he still spoke. I wonder what happened when he went out?_ I pondered as the door creaked open and a figure stepped out.

I blinked as I eyed Athrun from top to bottom. Athrun now wore a greenish-grey jacket with a white t-shirt underneath along with normal jeans. "Do they fit you fine?" I asked.

Athrun shrugged. "A little small," he said in that tone of his.

I nodded as I went over to the rack and grabbed another jacket, with a bigger size. "Here, try this one," I said as I handed it to him.

Athrun shrugged off the jacket and replaced it with the one I got. "It's better," he said.

I smiled, for the clothes suited him well. "Do you like these clothes?" I asked as Athrun nodded.

"Alright, we'll go with these ones then," I said as Athrun went to get changed again.

We spent most of the day shopping at various places, and even for a person who didn't like shopping, I admit that it wasn't too bad. The two of us stopped at a small cafe for food and I excused myself to go to the bathroom. As I washed my hands, I overheard a whole bunch of girls chatting. "Did you see that guy that just came in? He is soooo gorgeous!" one of them squealed.

Another nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought as well, but after you looked at him a few more times, you get this unsettling feeling about him, like he's dangerous or something," they said.

"I know what you mean; he gives off a strange feeling unlike most other guys that I know. I wonder why," said another. "But any case, we shouldn't approach him,"

I paused as they girls began to leave. It was true... The first time I found him unconscious, I had also thought that there was something different about him, something unhuman, but that didn't stop me from bringing him in. _If he had heard what those girls were saying, would he be hurt?_ I asked myself. _... Of course he would! Wait... could that be the reason why he is so out of it? Was it because someone hurt him?_ I thought as I quickly dried my hands and left. _In that case, I shouldn't leave him alone..._

I hurried back to my spot to see that Athrun was still sitting there, looking at the menu. However, I noticed that he was still on the same page. "Hey Athrun," I started softly.

Athrun's eyes flickered to mine for a moment. "How about we eat outside instead? It's a really nice day," I said.

Athrun looked at me strangely, but nodded. "Okay," he said quietly.

We walked around the city and finally, we ended up in the city park, which was quite peaceful especially during this time of day. As we sat down on the bench, I noticed an ice cream stand nearby so I turned towards him, "Would you like some ice cream?" I asked.

The blank look that appeared on his face told me he either didn't know what ice-cream was or that he was uninterested. I didn't know what he was thinking, so I went with the first reason that popped into my head. "You've never had ice cream?" I asked, surprised.

The emerald orbs lowered down to the ground as I realized that he must have taken that as an insult of some sort. "W-well.. ice cream is a bit like frozen flavoured milk, only that it is very soft like cream; it's very tasteful. I definitely recommend it to you," I said as I grinned. "There's a whole bunch of flavours like mango, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry etc, but my favorite would have to be mint chocolate. Is there a flavour that you'd like to try?"

"Mango,"

I blinked; I was nearly half expecting him to decline my offer, but I was glad he decided to try it. I grinned. "Okay, I'll be right back," I said as I ran towards the ice cream stand and made my order.

As my order of two ice cream cones were being made, I glanced back at Athrun, who sat solemnly on the park bench. Those who walked on the park path would walk on another path instead of passing the guy, even if it meant a longer walk. I frowned as I saw Athrun's eyes followed those who avoided him on purpose. _He knows he's different..._ I thought sadly as a voice interrupted my thoughts. "Here you go, miss! A mint chocolate and a mango,"

I blinked as I realized the ice cream seller was already done. I took my cones and paid the amount needed. "Thanks," I said with a quick smile before returning back to the bench.

I handed Athrun his cone and sat down next to him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Athrun stare at the cone for a moment before taking the smallest lick possible, as though taste-testing it. After his face showed approval of the cone, he took a bigger lick. I smiled. "Is it good?" I asked.

"..."

I leaned over and took a lick of my own at his mango ice cream. The taste was quite rich in taste; you could definitely taste some mango there, unlike some of the cones that I've tried in the past. I grinned. "Hey, it's good! Would you like to try some of mine?" I offered.

Athrun looked surprised but then he lowered his cone slightly as his gaze dropped to the floor. I was surprised at his movements but I backed off, thinking that he didn't want any. "A-ah.. sorry, I didn't think at all, did I?" I said with an embarrassed face.

"Why did you choose to familiarize yourself with me?"

I blinked in surprise. It was the longest sentence that I've heard from him today, but that wasn't what surprised me most. It was that tone that I heard in his voice, it sounded sad and lonely. "What?" I asked softly.

"Why did you choose to familiarize yourself with me when everyone else prefers to avoid me?" Athrun repeated solemnly. "I give off an irregular feeling, I know... but why are you still with me? Don't you want to back off like everyone else?"

I also lowered my cone as I looked at his face that was covered his with bangs. "Can't I be with you? Do you dislike me?" I asked.

Athrun's eyes rose to meet my eyes. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't answer my questions with another question," he said.

I hid a smile as I thought he sounded slightly annoyed despite the situation. "Okay, okay. I'll answer you," I said.

"It is true that you give a different feeling to others, even to me, but is that really a reason that I should stay away from you? Just because you are different? I don't think so. Everyone is different in their own ways. I'm not like 'everyone else'; I'm me. Who says I can't be with you? No one I've heard of as of yet. And even if they did say something like that, it's not like they can control me; I'm free to do what I want, right?" I said with a smile. "I don't want to 'back off' like everyone else and you know what that reason is?"

Athrun shook his head as his eyes were still focused on my face. I grinned, "I want to make you smile. You seem to have had a lonely past, which I guess would explain how you became the person you are today. So if I could make even the smallest difference in your life, I think I want to be with you until you are no longer lonely, if that is okay with you," I said.

Athrun nearly seemed like he was at a loss of words, but then a grim nearly-a-smile appeared on his face. "It is okay with me," he said slowly.

"That's good, because I like being with you; you're very interesting," I said. "Oh, which reminds me... you better finish that ice cream cone before it completely melts," I nodded towards his hand which ice cream was dripping upon.

I handed him my handkerchief, which he took gratefully. "Let's eat on the way home," I said as I took his hand and led him the way there.

* * *

**A/N: That's the third chapter! As you may have noticed (for surely I did), the characters as of the moment are a bit OOC. The reason I've made them slightly OOC is because of Athrun's mistrust with those around him and his lonely being. And Cagalli here is a lot more carefree than in the series and the reason is because she wants Athrun to open up to her, so I'll keep them as they are for now until the story progresses more. ****I admit that the ending seemed rather cheesy (yes, I'm a cheesy person XD) but if I were in Athrun's shoes at the moment, I'd be really happy if someone would stay by my side rather than avoiding me. **

**Also, I've decided that even though this story would mostly be told in Athrun's POV, I'll switch every few chapters, so that you guys could also know what Cagalli's thinking. I'll write a warning like I did above for each chapter that is displayed in Cagalli's POV. If there isn't a warning, then it'd be in Athrun's POV, like in the next chapter.**

**If there's anything you'd like me to change, please tell me.. oh, which reminds me: I'm in need of a beta reader so if you know any one who is willing to look over my work, could you let me know? Because of all the beta readers I've tried to ask, they don't really reply back, so it'd be great if I could find an active one. Thanks!  
**


	4. Reunion

**A/N: Wah... it's been more than a month since I last updated. TT Not only did I have summer school for advanced courses, I had trouble finding ideas for this chapter. -sigh-... oh well, this chapter wasn't as good as I would have liked, but it was the only thing I could come up with.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Reunion**

_If I could make even the smallest difference in your life, I think I want to be with you until you are no longer lonely..._ _that girl had said._ I sighed as I turned my head so that my face was hit by the moon light. _Tomorrow is going to be the full moon._ I nearly smiled at the thought of the first day I was here and how I had planned on leaving by the full moon, but I guess there was no need of that anymore. I sat up on my bed. _Cagalli's late..._ I thought as I glanced at the clock.

Cagalli had left earlier this morning to attend school, and told me that she had work afterwards, but she should've been home a while ago. A frown crossed my face as I wondered what kept her. I looked out my window to see that it was already quite dark. _It's not safe out here in the woods, especially at night, since there's many creatures that lurk out there... like wolves..._ I thought as I leapt off my bed and crossed my room. I stepped out onto the front porch and sat down there. I scanned the area throughly, making sure that there was nothing out of the ordinary.

It seemed that today, I was restless; something unsuspected crawled into my territory. Usually, with my senses, I could just make out what it would be, but this time, what I saw was a blur. Not knowing what was near make me alert the whole day, even though whatever it was wasn't close enough to harm me. The light sound of footsteps awoke me from my thoughts as a familar face broke through the darkness. "Athrun?" she called out as she approached me.

I blinked as I stood up quickly. "What are you doing out here?" Cagalli asked as she paused in front of me.

"Nothing," I murmured.

"Sorry I was late today... the Sportsplex was shorthanded today, so more hours were added on to my schedule," Cagalli explained as she sat down by my side. "Have you eaten yet? I stopped by a food stand on the way back and got some yakitori,"

I looked at the takeout box that was placed upon the table and shook my head. "No, I haven't eaten yet," I said.

Cagalli grinned. "Then dig in, there's a lot," she said as she handed me half.

"Thank you," I replied as I accepted gratefully; I haven't eatened since this morning, so I was quite hungry.

"Y'know.. today, even though it's the middle of the semester, we had three new transfer students come to our school," Cagalli started.

I said nothing as I continued to eat the skewered chicken. "2 of them are older while one of the boys is a year younger than I am. During break, the whole campus was buzzing with news about them; everyone is wanting to meet them because apparently, they're quite good looking," Cagalli continued between bites.

"Funny thing is, is that the three of them are all related somehow though they have different names, so I'm guessing they're probably cousins or something. Dearka Elthman, Yzak Joule and Nicol Amalfi,"

I chewed slowly as I pondered over what she had said. I found it rather strange, today there was a strange disturbance in the air that made the entire forest rather restless, myself included. Was it a coincidence that today, her school also had new students? "Athrun?" a voice called.

I blinked as I realized that it was Cagalli who had called my name. "You okay? You look rather strange," she said as she had paused eating.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "I'm fine," I answered as I resumed my meal.

We spent the remainder of the meal in silence and as Cagalli was heading in, I called out her name softly. "Cagalli, wait," I said as I also stood up.

My eyes met her curious ones for an instant before Cagalli blinked. She had the strangest facial expression upon her face as she gazed at me with wonder. I also blinked as a small frown crossed my face. "What's wrong?" I asked.

Cagalli shook her head as she gave me a smile. "Nothing, it's just that is the first time you've called out my name," she said, as a tint of happiness was in her voice. "What's up?"

I lowered my eyes to the wooden porch for a moment as I thought carefully about the words that would come through my mouth a second later. "Don't walk alone at night; it's not safe," I said quietly.

Cagalli nodded. "Mn! Thanks for the warning, I'll try to see if I can come home earlier tomorrow, so don't worry, 'kay?" she said as she gave me a playful grin before going inside.

I glanced around my surroundings. _It's not safe... especially in the forest._ I thought as I decided that I would surveillance the area once again. I waited in the darkness of my room until I could hear a familar soft rhythmic breathing before heading outside. _Sometimes, being a wolf really does have its benefits.._ I thought as a ghost of a smile lit my face.

In the darkness, my form changed into my other half. Swiftly and gracefully, I moved through the darkness as I felt the breeze blow past my fur. Blending carefully into my surroundings, I was the perfect creature of the night. I stopped for a moment as I stepped into the moonlight, closing my emerald eyes. I listened carefully to every little event that went on in my territory, when I felt a faint rustle in the bushes behind me.

I whipped my head around as I bared my teeth, daring the creature to come closer. As the creature stepped out into the moonlight, I frowned. _"It's you again," _I said softly.

A familar figure of a young male wolf came upon me. _"You're back," _he said. _"I sensed your presence nearby so I went to find you. I-i wanted to say thank you for the other day when you saved me from that cat,"_

I shook my head. _"You don't need to thank me; it was in my way anyway," _I said.

The younger wolf, whose name was Shinn as I recalled, sat down next to me. His black fur coat matched mine and he turned his face towards mine. Ruby-coloured eyes looked at me, full with curiosity. _"You are so different from me and my pack, why?" _he asked as he wagged his tail.

I nearly smiled at this boy's innocence. I could feel him trembling beside me. _"Don't your instincts tell you to stay away from me?"_ I asked quietly as I tilted my head towards the near-full moon.

The boy remained quite for a moment before speaking again, _"That's is true; my body cannot cease trembling in fear, but at the same time, I'm not afraid of you," _he said. _"Afterall, you saved me,"_

A excited smile crossed his face. _"Say, would you mind teaching me how to fight? I would like to become stronger,"_ Shinn said excitedly.

I thought about it for a moment before answering. _Seeing that he was one of the few creatures of the wild to not fear my existence, I guess there isn't much harm teaching him a few things._ I thought to myself. _"Fine, but only this once, and you have to listen to every word I say," _I said.

"_Yes!"_

I spent a large quantity of the night showing the young male what I knew and by the time a hint of sunlight blanketed the forest, I ended my lesson there. Shinn layed down, his sides heaving with hard effort. _"T-that... was the best night... in my life,"_ he said as he panted heavily.

"_You should head back to your pack before they begin to worry about you,"_ I said as my eyes glanced at the golden horizon.

The puppy nodded as he got back onto his feet. _"And you? Where will you go?"_ he asked.

I shrugged. _"I have someone waiting for me back home," _I said as I turned for the direction of the cabin.

I took a few steps before turning around. _"I have something to ask of you,"_ I said.

Shinn blinked. _"What is it?"_ he asked.

"_Tell me, have you sensed any unknown presence in this area?" _I asked as I remembered my discomfort earlier.

Shinn thought for a moment before nodding. _"Yes, it was rather strange. I've lived in this territory for all my life and I know it as well as the back of my tail, but this unknown presence makes me rather restless,"_ he admitted.

I nodded. _"That is all that I needed to know,"_ I replied as I began to sprint back to the cabin.

Just before the complete sunrise, I was able to get myself back into my home and in human form as well. I went through my open window and fell onto my bed. I had a few hours of rest before I heard Cagalli get up and arrange breakfast. "Athrun! Breakfast!" I heard her call.

"Yeah," I replied back as I got out of bed and washed my face in my personal bathroom before heading out to the dining room.

Cagalli placed down a piece of toast before me and went through her day plan. "...And so, I might be a little late, but I'll head straight back here, okay?" she said.

I nodded as I nibbled on the toast. It wasn't as good as meat, but I guess if you're human, you wouldn't eat only meat for 3 consecutive meals. "Anyway, I should really get going; I was asked to help out with some duties today. See you!" Cagalli added as she cleaned up and left the cabin.

I finished the remainder of my toast quickly as I also cleaned up at the same time. Today, I was going to follow her to her school, since I couldn't take it any longer; I had to find out what that presence was... human or not. I followed quite a ways behind Cagalli, moving quietly, but swiftly.

Stalking people and other beings was one of the greatest abilities of a wolf, since we moved without a sound. I brushed past many crowds of people along the way, but didn't slow down. Eventually, I came upon a large building with a gate in front. From the corner of the house that I was hiding at, I could see many students around Cagalli's and my age moving around on the school grounds. Shortly, a bell could be heard, signaling the beginning of classes. I saw the students filing in and the gate began to close.

As soon as everyone was indoors, this was my cue to get onto the school grounds. I moved quickly from my hiding spot and leaped over the wall without much difficulty. Then next, I ducked behind a tree and began to look around the empty campus. _My instincts tell me that the unknown presence is currently blended in with the other human beings, making it harder for me to single them out..._ I thought to myself as I sat down on the steps. _I guess I'd have to wait until later, when the students file out of school._

Waiting for the day to pass wasn't really that difficult. A day in a human's eye seemed like minutes for my kind. _For us, we don't even need a place to be educated. Our DNA was altered to be the superior being so that all the knowledge that was needed was already placed in our minds without having to sit there in class day after day . _I thought as I glanced uninterested at the nearest class.

Eventually, as the sun changed positions in the sky, I heard the footsteps of the student body going out of classes and I took this as my cue to get off the campus before being found. I made my way back to the gate and waited there, looking totally unsuspicious. I scanned the crowd for either Cagalli or the unknown presence that I had felt, but could see neither.

After a long period of time, I then realized that a small group of girls were coming towards me chattering excitedly amongst themselves. "I've never seen you here before. Are you waiting for someone?" a petite brunette asked me.

I glanced from one girl to another. They all seemed rather excited as they stole glances at me. Ishifted uncomfortably. "Sort of," I said.

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Who are you waiting for?" she asked.

"A friend," I answered as the girls looked at one another.

Another girl stepped forward. She had short blonde hair with numerous hairpins in her hair. "Oh really? Well I think that you shouldn't wait here, I suggest that you go into the school instead? We'll bring you inside," she offered.

I blinked several times as the girl began tugging on my arm. "Er.. that's okay, I'll just wait here," I said as the girls began to become more persistent.

"Oh c'mon! The person you're waiting for probably already left. Why not hang with us instead?" another suggested as the tugs got harder.

I stood my ground. "Please let me go," I said, my voice cool. I wanted to be left alone in peace, but knew that since humans were rather fragile, I couldn't use my strength against them.

They ignored me as they continue to convince me to go with them. I felt rather irritated as my words were being ignored and I was being forced against my will. It was almost as though I was back in the laboratory; my cries of pain being ignored as the scientists continued on with their experiments, not caring what I had felt as the needles pricked into my skin against my will. "I _said _let me-" I started.

"Athrun!" a familar voice interrupted.

The girls paused as they also turned to look at the newcomer. It was Cagalli. "Leave him alone! Can't you see he doesn't want to go with you or are you so desperate to find a male companion that you were going to drag him along with you even if he didn't want to?" she demanded in an angry tone.

I watched in astonishment as the girls released me and glowered at her. "What's it to you? Just because you're the student council vice president, doesn't mean you can say whatever you like," one of them countered.

Cagalli's eyes narrowed. "That's true, but you do realize that I have more authority than you do. If you're wise, I suggest you scatter," she said icily.

The girls glared at her before resigning and leaving in a storm. Cagalli sighed as she rubbed her temple. "What are you doing here, Athrun?" she asked tiredly.

I swallowed as I knew I had to come up with a lie and fast. I couldn't tell her that I was looking for the'presence' that lingered in the area. "Felt bored and came here to pick you up," I lied smoothly.

Cagalli raised an eyebrow. "And how did you know that I went to this school? I don't recall telling you," she said.

"Well... I asked around town with the description of your uniform and someone was able to tell me the directions of your school, and so I am here," I said.

Cagalli looked as though she was about to say something more but decided not to. She smirked as she looked at me. "So, tell me, when did you become so popular?" she asked, good-humorly.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't even want to talk about it," I replied.

Actually, I was also rather surprised for having a conversation with a human being other than Cagalli. I thought that I gave out a dangerous aura, but maybe this aura toned down slightly. I frowned, not knowing whether this was a good thing or not. "Anyway, I have stuff to do in the council, so I won't be heading home just yet. If you like, you can wait in the school or you could go home and wait for me there. You decide," said Cagalli as she glanced at her watch. "Ah! I should really get going, I'll see you later," she added in a hurry as she turned back to the direction of her school.

I watched as her figure went out of my sight as she entered the building and rushed down the hallway. All of a sudden, I sensed strange was watching me. I spun around in an istant to see that a figure was taking off in the direction of the forest. "You there! Wait!" I yelled after him as I took off.

The figure was fast, too fast. I was right; this being was no human. At least, not completely. Even though my pursuer had a early start, I was nearly able to catch up with him. As we entered deeper in the forest, I stopped as I realized that I was surrounded by 2 other beings. "I knew it," I said as the one I was chasing spun around to face me.

"It's been a long time, #00530, or should I say, Athrun?" he said.

My face darkened as I faced the three of them. "I'm not going back," I declared.

The boy smiled, his light green curly hair framing his face neatly. "That's not what were here for actually," he said. "However, meeting you here was a coincidence,"

"Jeez, you didn't change at all; that's not you're supposed to say to your old cellmates," said the tall blonde with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Quit beating around the bush, Dearka," said the last one as he stood next to him. "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can get back,"

A frown came naturally upon my lips. _Why could I sense them? They're of my own kind... I would have been able to sense them directly, but instead all I saw were blurred beings._ I thought. The green haired boy smiled. "Well, I guess this is all new to you, since you left before they were completed," he said, reading my mind. "These accessories help mask our presence, so that you wouldn't have seen us directly and thus ruining our mission, but I guess we were to cross paths after all,"

He nodded to his bracelet and as I glanced at the other two, I saw that they also wore accessories like necklaces and earrings. "Also, I'm no longer #00286, I'm Nicol Amarfi while he's Dearka Elthman and he's Yzak Joule," said the boy.

"Why are you here, if you are not to recapture me and why take on human names and forms?" I demanded as I glared from one to another.

The silver haired one stepped forward. "Our lab is in need of beings to be experimented on, for the production of the werewolf, since the last batch could not stand the supreme power of that being. So thus, we were sent out to find the perfect being. Unlike how we were changed, a mere infant will not work," said Yzak.

"Each city now has some of our kind, roaming around, blending into the human environment yet being controlled by these accessories. We were given orders to search this city, so the three of us entered the school. Coincidentally, when walking past one of the students there, Nicol saw you in her mind, which meant that she had some sort of link to you as well. I do believe that her name is Cagalli Yula Athha, a 16 year old," said Dearka with a wolfish smile on his face.

I gritted my teeth. "What are you planning to do now?" I said.

Yzak looked at me cooly, with a plan scheming in his head. "Who knows, you'll just have to wait and see," he said.

"But if that girl means anything to you, take good care of her, or else you might lose her," Yzak added before they left into thin air.

I clenched my fist tightly. _Damn... don't tell me that they're after her. If only I had not met her, then this would not have happ- no.. if she is to be their target, it wouldn't have mattered if I had met her. With the exception is that if I had not met her, there would be no chance of her being able to get away from them, but with me, I'll be able to keep her safe._ I thought as I hurried back to the school to find her.

Within short moments, using my sensitive nose and eyesight, I found her. She turned around as her ember eyes were filled with surprise. "Athrun? I thought you went back already... don't tell me you were staying this whole time?" she asked.

I said nothing as I met her eyes. Cagalli blinked. "Athrun? Is something wrong?" she questioned as she saw my facial expression change.

"I'm going to school with you,"

* * *

**A/N: There we go! Yep, Athrun here met his old cell mates once again, though their orders were to find the compatible being for the werewolf DNA instead of recapturing him. Even though they're out in the wild, they're controlled by their accessories, so that way, the scientists back at the lab will know what is going on without needing them to go all the way back to report.  
**


	5. Bait

**A/N: Hello everyone! It's been a long while eh? It took a long time to get the ideas together and onto computer, so I hope you won't be disappointed with this chapter. The paces goes much faster into this chapter and Athrun is placed into a dilemma which would lose his most important person either way.**

**Question from last chapter: Why doesn't the lab want Athrun back?**

**Answer: Because Athrun is not worth the trouble now due to experimenting with the remaining of the creatures back at the lab, causing them to be almost level with Athrun. Also they're busy with the fact that the werewolf DNA is completed and is only looking for a good host to live in.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Bait**

"_I'm going to school with you,"_ _Athrun had said the day before._

I sneaked a glance at the emerald male as the two of us walked to my school. There were million of questions that I wanted to ask him, yet I bit my lip as I thought that maybe he wouldn't like my interogating him. _Why did he want to come to school all of a sudden? He never did before.._ I thought to myself as I examined the Athrun's cool features.

_Also, he aced that school exam yesterday without any preparation at all! _To gain entry to my high school, there was an exam that was mandatory for all those who decided to enter. I could remember my barely passing on that exam while Athrun scored just about perfect. _He seems like the bright type of person, but I would never think that he was this smart... why does he even need to go to school anyway? For all I know, he could be in any university, even the best._

I met Athrun's gaze as he turned his face to meet mine. He frowned slightly. "What's wrong?" he asked in that cool tone of his.

I shook my head. "It's nothing," I replied as I studied his features carefully.

Those few days after I had found him lying unconcious near my cabin, he barely spoke a full sentence, but now, I could see a dramatic change. I mean, before, when I took him out for that day shopping, he attracted attention with his handsome features, yet everyone was afraid to approach him due to his cold exterior. My mind drifted over to yesterday when I had caught him waiting outside my school with a bunch of girls surrounding him. _Hard to get along with? Not anymore._

Eventually, we approached a familar building that was busy with the student body travelling around. I felt the curious stares of girls and guys alike as I walked towards the main office with someone who looked like a model of a fashion magazine. "We're here to pick up Athrun's schedule," I said to the secretary who was in her thirty's.

The secretary looked at the male beside me with keen interest. "So, you're the transfer student I heard about from the principal," she said with a smile.

Athrun gave a curt nod while the secretary opened up a file and gave him his schedule. "Here you go, hope your first day goes smoothly," she said.

"Thank you,"

I frowned slightly as I noticed that he said the words without much feeling. "C'mon, let's go; the bell will ring soon," I said impatiently as I yanked on his sleeve.

He allowed me to drag him outside before questioning my actions. "You seem rather annoyed," he remarked as we travelled down the hall.

I gave him a why-do-you-think-that-is look. "You're probably not used to it, but can't you smile when thanking people? It'd make people feel that their efforts weren't wasted, y'know?" I said as we stopped by my locker.

Athrun remained silent as I propped my locker open. "Well, let's see your schedule," I said as I gathered my books.

The slip of paper was handed to me and I briefly scanned through it. "The majority of your classes are the same as mine, with the exception of gym and science. But our gym period is the same, so I'll also be there at the same time," I said as I handed the slip of paper back to Athrun.

"I see," he said as I closed my locker and headed down to my first class with him at my side.

As I paused at the doorway, I felt numerous eyes upon myself and the male beside me. I ignored them all as I went up to the teacher's desk with Athrun at my side. "Ms. Ramius, Athrun just transferred to our class," I said quietly as I heard many students murmur softly about the new student.

Ms. Ramius nodded her head. "Yes, I have heard about that. Well, please take your seat, Cagalli, while Athrun introduces himself," she said as she gave Athrun a warm smile.

I glanced back at the blunette as I saw his upper lip twitch in response. I blinked. _Was he trying to smile?_ I wondered as I gave him an encouraging nod and placed my books down at my desk. Ms. Ramius cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, today we have a new student," she started as everyone looked at the new stranger.

Ms. Ramius turned and smiled at Athrun. "Please introduce yourself to the class," she said warmly.

I noticed that Athrun had an unreadable look on his face as he nodded. "My name is Athrun and up to this point, this is my first time going to a school. At a young age, I was home-schooled ," he said.

I frowned slightly as I noticed that his face was rather stoney. _He needs to smile! _"C'mon Athrun! Smile when you're talking!" I mumbled under my breath.

Athrun's eyes drifted over to me for a second as I looked at him in surprise. Then his gaze was directed back to the class. "But despite that, I hope that you will look after me," he said as the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, turning into a very small smile.

My eyes widened. _It's like he heard me! Wow...it's the first time I've seen him smile.. even if it's a small one._ I thought to myself as I noticed that many girls in the class were whispering excitedly amongst themselves while sneaking looks at Athrun.

Ms. Ramius nodded approvingly. "Thank you Athrun. There are a few vacant seats in this room and you're welcome to choose whatever seat you would like," she said.

Athrun nodded back as he made his way to the left side of the room and took an empty seat near the window. He sat a few seats to the left from where I sat and I noticed that he was looking out of the window.

For the remainder of the class, Ms. Ramius went over the rules of factoring polynomials and such. Every now and then, I looked over to my left to see that Athrun has never turned his head to look at the white board once while his gaze was still looking outside. _What is he doing exactly?_ I wondered as I noticed that Ms. Ramius looked slightly exasperated that one of her students wasn't paying much attention to her.

She was a really nice teacher, but she could be strict about one's learning. "Athrun, what is the answer to x squared plus nine x plus twenty equals zero?" she asked as I looked over at Athrun's direction again and noticed that others did the same.

At first I thought that he didn't hear her since he didn't turn, but a few moments later, he turned his head slightly to face the teacher and replied smoothly, "X equals negative four and negative five,"

Within the class there were murmurs of surprise as Ms. Ramius looked slightly startled as well. "W-well, thank you," she stammered as she continued with the lesson.

I raised my eyebrow as I wondered whether Athrun was really paying attention or if he was just smart. _Where did he learn exactly? He said he was home-schooled, but how come he never said anything about it earlier? Also, what was he doing that day when I found him? Why was he injured and how did he end up next to my cabin?_ I wondered as many questions arose. I wanted to ask him those questions, but were they too personal?

Eventually the bell rang, signaling the end of this class and the beginning of the next one. Everyone gathered their books and headed out of the room. My next class was physical education, the same as Athrun's. As both gym classes headed outside to do various activities, I overheard some girls talking about the 'new transfer student'. "Wow, he's really cool looking!" one of the exclaimed.

"Yeah I know eh? I overheard the principal talking to another teacher that he aced the entrance exams with no problem as well," another replied.

As I jogged with the rest of my class my mind drifted over to Athrun, who was playing basketball with his class. _Seems that his dangerous aura has diminued dramatically... I wonder why? Is it because he wants to belong? Or is it because he is more open now? _I wondered. As our teacher left to bring supplies from the gym, the girls' gym class wandered over to the basketball courtsto watch the guys play. "Wow! Rusty is so great at basketball!" a girl cried out as numerous girls began cheering on the boys' gym class.

"Hey look! There's a new guy!! He's really good as well!" another yelled.

As I heard this, I also approached the basketball court, looking on from behind the line of girls. Athrun was placed on the dark clothing team and I watched as he handled the ball professionally, dodging the ongoing players that tried to stop him. He moved swiftly, imhumanly even, as though his instincts were showing him the clear path. As he jumped up and shot, time seemed to have frozen for a slight second as my eyes were dead set on his face.

His face held the look of determination as the ball sailed through the air and landed perfectly into the hoop. The girls cheered madly at the spectacular move and the ball was taken to the side once more. As the game continued once more, I saw Athrun outshine all of the others; speed, skill, and power. He worked quite well on his own, but he also passed the ball to several of his teammates when he was surrounded; he played the game like a professional.

Later, as my second class of the day ended. We quickly got changed and went for lunch. As I reached my locker, I paused as I wondered whether I should ask Athrun if he wanted to eat lunch with me. I took my lunch and closed my locker behind me, then walked down the hall. I didn't get far when I heard a lot of guys talking excitedly at once about the result of the boys' basketball game. "Hey, that was wicked! Where did you learn to play like that, Athrun? You should so totally join the boy's basketball team," one said.

"Yeah! If you joined, you'd probably replace Rusty as MVP, right Rusty?" another teased.

Rusty, the team captain of the boy's basketball team playfully punched the guy's arm. "Hey, that was mean, Aoi," he said with a smile as he turned to the newcomer. "But he is right, it'd be great if you joined. We'd welcome you,"

As I noticed that Athrun seemed to be getting along just fine with the other guys, I left on my own. _It's better that he has friends, right? _ I asked myself, but I couldn't help but feel lonely without Athrun by my side. I headed up to the roof, where I usually had my lunch. It was pretty windy up here, but I didn't mind. I sat down on the bench that was there and ate my sandwich as I looked up at the cloudy sky. _Seems like there's going to be bad weather later on..._

I took out my cellphone from my pocket and checked for messages, which happened to be none. I frowned. _What's up with Kira? Why hasn't he replied to my messages? It's been more than a week now..._ I went through my inbox. "Cagalli?" a familar voice called.

I didn't need to look up from my phone to know who it was. "Hey, Athrun," I said as I lowered my cell.

"I've been looking for you," he said in his cool voice. "I saw you down in the hallway, but when I looked away for a moment, you disappeared,"

"Sorry, I thought that you wanted to be with your friends, so I left first," I said as I looked up at the blunette.

Athrun said nothing as he took his place next to me. "What's wrong? You seem rather worried," he commented as he studied my face throughly.

I sighed as I closed my cellphone. "It's nothing much," I replied as I tucked my cellphone back into my pocket.

Athrun frowned as he leaned over. "Then why is your face filled with worry?" he questioned cooly.

I hesitated before answering. Should I tell him? It's doesn't have anything to do with him... but my friend, Mirillia always said that if there was something bothering you, telling a friend about it eases your worry. "Well... you know how my brother Kira went overseas to study?" I asked as Athrun nodded.

"I send messages to him daily, which he replies almost ASAP. However, it's been more than a week and he hasn't replied at all. I tried calling him several times, but all I ever got was his answering machine. At first I thought that maybe he was too busy to reply, but he would always send a message saying that he wouldn't be able to reply for a short period of time," I explained as I brought my knees closer to my body.

Athrun said nothing at first as he looked over my situation. "Well what about contacting your brother's school?" he suggested.

I lifted my head as I thought about his suggestion. "Hey, you're right! I didn't think about that. I'll phone them when I get home. Thanks," I smiled.

Athrun nodded. "Your welcome," he said with a smile.

It wasn't a small smile like he had done in the classroom; it was a really smile. I blinked as I stared at him. Athrun backed off slightly in surprise. "What?" he questioned.

"Y'know, you're not that bad looking when you smile," I said.

Athrun absorbed the comment for a few seconds before replying with a frown on his face. "Are you saying that I'm bad looking?" he asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Of course not," I grinned as I stood up.

Athrun looked rather unconvinced but he smiled again. _What a change... Athrun has changed quite a bit from the first day I met him. If he's able to smile like this, I want to see him smiling as much as possible. _I thought. _Not only did he become gentler, but he was able to cheer me up. Thank you._

I turned to face him as I glanced at my watch. "Ah, I have student council duties now. It seems that one of the other transfer students that came the other day wants to join, so as vice-president, I have to test him out," I said. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Wait,"

I felt a hand grab onto my wrist as I was about to head for the door. I paused and turned around sharply, in surprise. "Athrun?" I said as I looked at his face.

His face darkened quickly as his face looked very serious. "Stay away from him," he said deathly quiet.

I stared at him. "What do you mean? I have to go; it's my duty," I said.

Athrun's eyes were pleading as his grip tightened on my wrist, so much that I winced. "Please, Cagalli. Don't go near him. He's not what he seems," he begged.

I looked at him strangely. _Why is Athrun behaving so strangely? I've never seen him like this before... Does he know something that I don't about the new students?_ Many questions went through my mind. I took another look at Athrun's pleading face. He was dead serious. I hesitated slightly before agreeing. "Fine, okay. I'll let Mirillia know that I can't be there to test the newcomer. But I still have to go down to tell her," I said. "So would you please release your death grip on my arm?"

Athrun released my arm slowly as I headed for the door. As the door closed, the last thing I saw was Athrun's face as he looked after me. I tried figuring out what was the meaning behind the words that he spoke to me. _He's not what he seems._ Athrun had said. But in what way? I heard many students talk excitedly about the three new students that came the other day. Saying how they were really kind and open people. Did Athrun get his facts wrong? I frowned as I went down the stairs and down the hall. As I came upon the student council meeting room, I paused in front of the door, hesitating to go in. _Do I really go through with it?_ I asked myself as my hand rested on the doorknob. Before I could do anything else, a young voice called out, "I take it that you are the vice-president?"

My body froze as my eyes widened at the unfamilar voice. Athrun's voice rang through my head as I glanced to the side, turning my face. I saw a young boy with light green curly hair who smiled carefreely at me. "Hello, how do you do? I'm Nicol, I transferred here a few days ago. May I call you Cagalli?" he asked.

I blinked several times before responding. "S-sure..." I said.

I studied the boy's gentle smile. _What was Athrun going on about?_ I thought as Nicol looked rather angel-like. "So Cagalli," he started out. "I was wondering, how much do you know about Athrun exactly?"

I stared at him. "H-how much?" I repeated, not sure if I had heard the question right.

Nicol nodded. "Yep, just asking," he replied.

I bit the corner of my mouth. How much did I know about Athrun really? Whenever I thought about him, my mind was full of questions about the mysterious teen. I didn't know much about his past, because it seemed that he didn't want to talk about it. I didn't even know about his family either. A frown crossed my face as I realized that I didn't know him very well at all. My eyes met Nicol's as he gave me an understanding smile; a smile that made my mind freeze.

"It's okay if you don't know what to reply," he said easily. "But do you want to know something interesting about Athrun?"

I blinked. What did this guy know that I didn't? What relationship did the two have? My frown grew larger as I wondered what this guy was up to. Nicol must have read my mind because he replied, "Oh don't worry, I mean no harm to be done. It's just something that you'd want to know before you befriend someone like Athrun. He hasn't told you a lot about himself, has he?" he said.

It was true; Athrun didn't really talk about himself. "I'd tell you right here, but this isn't an appropriate place," said Nicol as he took my hand. "Let's move to another place,"

I stopped, not allowing him to pull me along as I asked, "What is your relation to Athrun?"

Nicol grinned widely. "A relationship between brothers, though we're not blood related," he said. "Now will you come along?"

We walked and walked until we came out of the school and onto the grounds. "Where are we going?" I demanded as the school bell rung behind us.

"Just a little further,"

My consciousness grew larger as we entered the town. I stopped, not allowing him to pull me any further. "Stop. I'm going back. I don't care what you have to say about Athrun. I believe that he has his own reasons of not telling me," I said as I yanked my arm out of his grip.

Nicol also stopped moving as he turned around to face me. He was no longer smiling as I felt my blood froze at the cold look on his face. "That's no good, Cagalli. I wanted to do this the easy way, but it seems that I have no choice. If you don't come, the bait would not be set," he said coldly.

_What did he say? B-bait?_ My eyes widened as I took on his words. However, I was not fast enough to react as a blow came from behind, knocking me into darkness.

* * *

_Athrun's POV:_

_Where's Cagalli? The class has started, but I do not see her anywhere. _I thought as I glanced around the class. _Damn! If only those three weren't here, then I would be able to sense her without a problem._ I clenched my fists under my desk as I saw the teacher come in a close the door. "Hmm? Where's Cagalli? It's not like her to miss school," he murmured softly to himself, but I heard it clearly.

That's it. I had to go find her. I raised my hand high into the air, catching Mr. La Flaga's attention. "Athrun, was it? Do you have a question?" he asked.

"Sir, I think I ate something wierd from my lunch and I do not feel very well. May I request leaving for the infirmary?" I asked quickly.

Mr. La Flaga gave me a wierd look but nodded otherwise. "That is fine, but do you know your way around already? Or do you need someone to come along with you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, I will be fine on my own," I said as I got up and walked out the door.

As soon I was out of the class room, with my inhumanly speed, I went through the halls, trying to sense Cagalli. My senses were blurry due to the fact that the other wolves were armed with gadgets produced by the lab. As soon as I checked out the whole school, I was sure that Cagalli was no longer on school grounds. _Damnit!_ I thought furiously to myself. _Why did I let her go?!_

I took off out of the school and into the town within a few moments and then entered the forest. _She said that she would go and turn that the offer..._ I raced through the forest, trying to expand my vision, to make things more clear. Suddenly as I stopped in the middle of nowhere and slowly looked to my right. There stood a smiling figure. "Hello Athrun, you came earlier than expected," he said easily.

I scowled darkly at him. "Where is Cagalli," I said deadly serious.

"Oh, she's doing fine, you don't have to worry about that," said Nicol as he moved forward several paces.

"If you hurt her..." I warned. "I will certainly kill you without hesitantion, even if you are my closest friend,"

Nicol ignored me as he crossed his arms. "I bet you're wondering why I led you here with Cagalli as bait instead of just bringing Cagalli back to the lab for analysis? You don't need to be a mind reader to figure out your mind," he said.

I frowned. Nicol was very good at seeing through others. "Well, Yzak wanted the mission to be over and done with quickly, but I thought there wouldn't be much fun in a mission that ended so quickly," he explained as his smile faded. "I wanted revenge. I wanted to hurt you in the strongest way possible because you escaped without me. We were close enough to be brothers, but no, you left me behind,"

I glared at him as the truth rose to the surface. "It was not like I was given much choice! Even for me, it was hard to get out of there," I argued.

"So, does that mean, it was _impossible_ for someone like me to have gotten out?" Nicol asked quietly.

I froze as the truth sunk in. I was one of the top creatures in the lab while Nicol was several levels below me. If I had had a hard time getting out, someone as weak as him wouldn't have. But then as I replayed his words quickly in my head, I realized that he wasn't talking about the present, but more of the past.

I stared at him as his face smiled, however, it was evil this time. "I've changed Athrun, I'm no longer the weak, naive boy you knew. After you escaped, the humans tortured us non-stop, trying to perfect their experiments. It hurt so much, but you wouldn't understand. Each of us screamed in our heads why didn't you come and save us? Why did you abandon us, your friends? There were a number that couldn't take it any more and either went insane or didn't make it through," Nicol spoke.

"However, there was a good outcome from all of that; we became more powerful. Yzak and Dearka, together are more powerful than you are now while I'm now much much closer to your level than I was before,"

"My first thought was to challenge you into a fight, but now I think that is pointless. I found a better method," Nicol said as he looked to his left.

As I also glanced at the direction Nicol was looking, my eyes widened as I saw an unconscious Cagalli lying in Dearka's arms. "Cagalli!" I called out.

I sensed for her heart beat immediately, for fear that she was gone. To my relief, Cagalli was only knocked out and was unharmed otherwise. I watched helplessly as Dearka passed Cagalli to Nicol who held her from the side. "Cagalli, please awaken," he said softly.

I watched as Cagalli's eyes began to flutter and then became unfocused at first. It was as though she was asleep the whole time. She blinked several times before she awoke fully. As she realized that there were firm hands on her arms, Cagalli looked up to meet Nicol's eyes. She struggled. "Let me go!"

Nicol held her firmly, overpowering her by a dozen fold. "Shh, don't make such a fuss. Athrun's here," he said calmly.

Cagalli froze as she looked over in my direction. I saw her eyes widen. "Athrun! Get away from here! These guys are no good!" she cried out as she began to struggle to get free.

_How can she still be thinking about me? It was all of my fault in the first place that she was caught!_ I thought angrily. I charged forward but was blocked by both Yzak and Dearka. I glared angrily at the two of them because what Nicol said wasn't a lie; they together were stronger than I was. "Let Cagalli go," I said deadly serious.

Nicol ignored me as he smiled evily. "Cagalli, do you want to know Athrun's most important secret that he has hidden from you?" he said.

My eyes widened in horror. "No! Don't!" I yelled out as my fears were spilling out.

Cagalli stopped struggling as she slowly turned to face Nicol. "Have you ever wonder why Athrun was so perfect? Even inhumanly?" he said. "Well that's because he isn't human... to be exact he's a mutant with the DNA of both human and direwolf,"

Cagalli looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. "N-no... you're wrong!" she cried out in denial.

Nicol tightened his grip on her arms, making her wince as his nails dug into her skin. "Am I? Do you recall a time several years ago when you first witnessed mutants? The time your family was slaughtered?" he said quietly.

I watched as Cagalli's figure completely froze. She looked at me with large blank eyes asking me to tell her that it wasn't true. "Athrun?" she called out.

I gritted my teeth. What should I do? I would lose her either way. "Now now Athrun, transform right now in front of her, unless you want her to die?" said Nicol as his arms moved quickly from her arms to her neck.

My eyes widened as he applied pressure on her neck, making her choke. _If I transform now, Cagalli will be saved even if it meant that I can no longer be by her side... if I didn't, she would be lost forever..._ The descision was clear; I would have to transform.

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**A/N: Yay a cliffie! XD Sorry about that; the chapter seemed to have wanted to end there. I've thought about deleting this story several times, but then thought against it. Making a story develop with as few ideas that have been thought makes the writer's skill progress right? Besides, I didn't want to disappoint those who were looking forward to the next chapter, so I'm glad I didn't. How will Cagalli react in the next chapter? Would she reject Athrun or accept him? Please give me your thoughts and hope you'll look forward to the next chapter. :)  
**


	6. Bond

**A/N: Hello everyone!! Thanks so much for all of those reviews on the last chapter! The most I've ever gotten so far with this fic so I was really really delighted! I had planned on posting sooner, but midway point, the ideas started to seem rather different, so I made this chapter go with both point of views so we could understand what both Athrun and Cagalli are feeling. Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Question from last chapter: (midnight blue08): will kira make an appearance or not?**

**Answer: Yeah, Kira will have a grand role in this fic and he should appear in the next two chapters if things work out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny**

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**Chapter 6: Bond**

The whole time as we were standing in the forest, it had begun to rain heavily, but no one noticed. I glanced from Nicol's sadistic face to Cagalli's face which showed great pain as she struggled with Nicol's grip on her neck. "A-ath...run," she choked weakly as her hands gripped helplessly against Nicol's.

"Well? What have you decided, Athrun?" said Nicol as his face showed no warmth.

I clenched my fist tightly as I knew that I had run out of options. I wouldn't be much help to Cagalli even if I had taken on the three of them, especially now that they were much stronger than I am. Slowly, I unclenched my teeth which were bound together tightly. Nicol already knew my answer, but he wanted the satisfaction of my saying it."Let her go... I'll do it," I said deathly quiet as I glared at Nicol through my wet bangs.

I closed my eyes as I thought about my other form, the being that was implanted into my DNA ever since I was an infant. As the howling of a distant wolf went through my mind, I felt the change going through my body. My senses grew sharper as I took on a larger form. Dark fur covered my body from head to toe and my fangs grew. When I reopened my eyes again, I was no longer in my human form; I was a direwolf.

Being able to hear just the slightest sound, I just barely noticed the faint vibration of the accessories that these three wolves wore. Yzak stepped forward as he unfolded his crossed arms. "Nicol, the lab wants us back now," he said.

The smile on Nicol's face slid off as he also knew. "How inconvenient... I guess I'll have to continue this later," he said as his face darkened.

If one creature of the lab were to disobey his orders, there were great consequences that one would face, which none would like to acknowledge. "I'll see _you_ later, Athrun," said Nicol before vanishing into thin air by the naked eye.

Without support holding her up, Cagalli lost control of her legs as she sunk down onto the damp forest ground. As I quickly changed back into my human form to check upon her, I held out my hand to take hers when she slapped it away. I pulled my hand back as though I had been burnt, feeling the sting mentally and physically. Cagalli retreated a few paces back as she stared at me with wide eyes, not knowing what to believe. I froze as my blood turned to ice.

The impact was there. The look that she had given me was that of a human looking at a wild beast. Her face was smudged with dirt as the rain came down heavily, soaking her to the core. Her arms and neck still had marks were she was mistreated by Nicol and the other two. I clenched my fist as I already knew what was going on through her mind. Without thinking another thought, I backed away from her, painfully. Not taking another glance at her, I ran into the forest, trying to distance myself from her as quickly as possible.

I didn't even bother to change forms as I ran. Dodging the incoming trees, I ran and ran as the rain came down, soaking everything in the process. My mind was blank as I only focused on getting as far away from her as I could. With my senses, I forsaw the river coming up shortly. Moving at an inhumanly speed, I leapt far across the river, with my jacket flying behind me as I took air. Landing softly on the soft sandbank I continued to move. I didn't realize how much time has passed, but when I thought I was far enough from the cabin, my run slowed down gradually until I stopped. The rain slid down from my hair to the back as I stood there in the middle of nowhere with pain in my heart.

Putting my hand into a fist I punched the nearby tree with humanly effort, feeling my knuckles dig into the hard bark. Clenching my teeth I lowered my head so that the top of my forehead touched the tree. I opened my hand so now it dragged slowly across the bark. _Why did it have to end like this?_ I wanted to scream. _The only person that I wanted to stay with forever... is it so wrong?!_

My heart beat heavily against my chest as my mind recalled the way she looked at me. Her wide ember eyes full of fear. _She would have found it someday, but I didn't it want it to be like this! _I thought as the rain continued to pour around me. Her neck and her arms had marks where Nicol had gripped her so tightly, the pain she had felt. _It's all of my fault... It wouldn't have happened if I hadn't met her in the first place. If only I had left that second night.. neither of us would have felt the pain._

_If only I was born as a normal human being... then maybe I would have been able to continue that happy yet peaceful life with her. Because of what I was, I was not allowed to live in happiness. _

It took a while, but eventually, I calmed down. _Things happen for a reason... I guess this is my destiny._ I thought as I leaned against the tree which had took my beating. I held out my hand, palm facing the grey sky as I felt the raindrops hit my hand gently. I watched as they slipped through my fingers like how I had lost Cagalli's trust. I slowly tightened my hand back into a fist as I wished that I could have changed the past.

As I stood there reflecting, a figure stood in front of me, looking at me curiously. As I raised my eyes to meet the stranger, I realized that this was the wolf from earlier, Shinn. He looked at me, disbelieving as he stared at me intently. I raised my eyebrow. "Surprised to see me human?" I said with a small smile.

Shinn blinked as he listened to my words. Humans always thought that animals were stupid enough not to understand their languages, but actually, it was false. Why would animals not obey their commanders? The answer is simply that they did not want to or didn't feel like it. The smile faded from my face as I turned myself into my other form, facing him wolf to wolf.

I saw his eyes widen in shock as I stood on four legs instead of two. "You..." Shinn started. "A-are both... human_ and _wolf?"

I noticed that his body was slightly cautious towards me. _It wouldn't matter if I lost another, would it?_ I asked myself before answering. "That's right. You scared?" I asked emotionlessly.

Shinn shook his head slowly. "No, just surprised... that's all," he said as his body became more relaxed as he studied my features carefully.

I raised an eyebrow (well, what that would happen if I was in human form anyway). "Why?" I asked.

"Well, even though you're not completely wolf nor human, I don't think you're a bad person," Shinn said with a small smile. "After all, you're my friend, are you not?"

I stared at his answer. It was definitely not something I expected. "What is wrong?" Shinn asked of all a sudden. "Even though you were in your human form, I sensed sadness from the air around you,"

I said nothing as I looked past him, wondering if Cagalli was at home already. I lowered my eyes to the ground as I wondered if she was still thinking about me or if she was trying to forget that she ever met me. _Probably the later happened._ I thought to myself as I sat down. "Is it about someone else?" Shinn's curious voice asked again.

I looked at him. "Why do you want to know?" I questioned.

Shinn shrugged. "Well, I don't know about you, but in my pack, whenever someone is down, I guess I become sad as well if I can't help them," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

I hesitated as I thought over his words. He was a strange one... definitely. Yet there was something unusually kind about him, the same kindness that I had known from Cagalli. The warmth that made you feel that you belonged, regardless of what you were. Finally, I decided that it wouldn't there was no harm in telling him, and so I did.

Shinn listened patiently as I told him everything that has happened to me. From my earliest memories to the moment now. He stopped me and asked questions to relieve his curiosity, but he seemed eager to know what I had experienced. When I finished explaining, Shinn looked at me with awe. "I can't believe you managed to escape that horrible sounding place! Wow... no wonder you are so strong," he marveled with a dreamy expression on his face.

My face was grim as I thought that if I was a regular wolf or a regular person, none of this would have happened in the first place. "Well, are you going to see Cagalli again?" Shinn asked out of the blue.

I stared at him as though he had grown two heads. "See her?" I repeated. "You cannot be serious,"

Shinn shrugged. "Well, did she tell you to never come near her again?" he asked.

I shook my furry head. "No, but her actions were self-explanatory," I replied. "I have never seen someone look at me that way,"

"It could have been her reflexes that's all, from shock and everything. You never know unless you go see her again," Shinn said.

I shook my head again. "Even though it may have been something like that, but there's no way she will be willing to see me again," I said.

"You see, before... when I was staying with her, she once told me that her family was killed off by wolves, though she never said what kind. Today, Nicol, the one that is like me, asked her if she remembered back to the time her family was slaughtered, the time when she first witnessed beings like me,"

"It was then that I realized that her family was torn apart because of creations from the lab. Even though I didn't raise a hand in this matter, seeing someone like myself would only trigger painful memories," I explained.

"I decided that on her behalf, I will never go near her again,"

* * *

_Cagalli's POV:_

It took what seemed like forever to get back to my cabin, even though I knew the forest as well as I knew myself. My mind was blank the whole time as I wobbled up the front porch and into the house. As soon as I was just inside the comfort of my home, I lost footing and fell down onto my knees. My breathing was rapid as my mind flashed back to the events that happened earlier. "A-athrun," I spoke quietly as tears slid down my cheek.

I clenched my hand into a fist as I recalled slapping his hand earlier. I had not wanted to, but my body did not listen and did so anyway. As I had stared at him with my wide eyes, realizing the deed I had just done, I realized that the impact was already done on Athrun. His eyes widened not only with sadness, but also with understanding. Before I could regain myself, Athrun had already took off.

I asked myself why did my body long for him, even when it was his kind that slaughtered my family before my own eyes. For all that I knew, Athrun could have also been at the scene. He could have been the one who killed my parents. Instead of anger inside me, I felt a pang of sadness flowing through me. It was as though Athrun had taken my heart away from me.

Without knowing it, I had taken a great liking to him. At first, I helped him because like any normal person, I would help someone who was in need of assistance. But after seeing that he had something that I had seen in my self, I took him under my wing. He was lonely. After Kira, my brother, went overseas, despite giving him a bright smile, I felt very lonely after he had gone. I could have easily asked him to stay here, but it would sadden me even more if I knew that Kira had given up such a chance all because of my selfishness.

When Athrun stayed with me, I could become as I was like before. In the beginning, Athrun was difficult to talk to, but I knew that he was a good person, only that he did not know how to open up. If I compared him to when he was the first time we met, I could list a number of changes that I saw in him. He became more social, he could even smile. When I had saw him smile the other day, I couldn't help but feel as though I wouldn't be afraid of anything with him by my side. But now this happened...

Why did I feel so betrayed? Why didn't Athrun tell me? Was it because he couldn't trust me? I had the feeling that he never really trusted people, since he was always so cautious around me. Was he afraid that I would sell him out? I placed my palms against my forehead, as frustration took over._ Will I ever be able to see him again? Where is he now?_

I wondered as I looked over to the window, seeing the rain come down hard. _Is he out there in the rain? _I felt like the most useless person in the world. _Of course he is... though where, is the better question._ I glanced around my cabin, feeling the cold dark atmosphere around me. Never before had I felt that this house was so big, but that was what I was feeling now.

I didn't go to school the next day, I knew that Athrun would not be there. He was probably gone to someplace far away. As I was thinking about him for what seemed to be the hundredth time today, I heard a knock on the oak door. I glanced up, thinking it was Mirillia who came to find out why I didn't come to school today. Crossing the room quickly, I opened the door without much thought. "Hey Mir, sorry I didn-" I said automatically.

Then a familiar voice interrupted. "Nice to see you again, _Cagalli_,"

My eyes widened as I slowly looked up. My mind froze as I saw the angelic smile of the boy who terrorized me yesterday. Reacting immediately, I slammed the door as fast as I could, but with lightning-quick reflects, Nicol caught the door an inch before it was able to close. "Now now, that wasn't very nice of you," he said as he reopened the door.

My heart was racing at the speed of light as everything in my mind screamed at me to run. I ran for the backdoor, not wanting to look back. Before I was able to get to the other side of the room, Nicol was already in front of me. He made a tsk-tsk sound as he looked at me coldly. "Didn't you learn not to walk away when someone is talking to you?" he said.

I gritted my teeth as I backed away from him. Instead of replying, I took the nearest wooden chair and threw it at him. I watched as the chair hit him and smashed into two, but what froze my blood was that he didn't even wince as the impact him him straight on. "Was that supposed to hurt?" he said as he advanced.

Breathing rapidly, I turned around and run out the front door. As soon as I took the steps down the front porch, I froze in my tracks as I met not only the two other guys that hung out with Nicol, but there were at least 5 others standing in front of me. Panicked, I took a step back but stopped when I heard steps coming down slowly behind me. I swallowed hard; I was surrounded. I turned to face Nicol, whose angelic smile never left his face. "What do you want with me?" I asked as I kept my guard up.

"Oh, not much. Only that you were chosen to be a lab rat," Nicol answered easily.

I narrowed my eyes. "Lab rat? You think I'll cooperate that easily?" I countered.

Nicol's angelic smile turned into a sinister one as he looked at me icily. "Oh, I think so. Afterall, there's not much you can do against one of us, not to mention six," he said as he advanced.

"Besides, you should take it as an honor that the laboratory would want to use you as a test subject. Not every human gets this chance," he added.

"I'm not interested in being a test subject! Why don't you understand and leave me alone?!" I demanded furiously.

"It's not your choice," said Nicol.

Gritting my teeth, I tried to make a break for it, but unfortunately, a blond caught me within a second. "Nice, Miguel," said Nicol as he stepped forward. "Now, unless you want to feel some pain, I suggest you come along quietly,"

I struggled against the blond male, but no use. His grip was like iron. "Someone HELP!" I screamed, hoping that some passerby would hear.

Nicol's smile faded as he stood next to me. "Now now, you wouldn't want an innocent bystander to get injured for your sake, would you? We're not ordinary humans as you already know, we're also wolves," he said as his eyes glowed.

I flinched as he said those words in my ear. I was helpless against these people. "Now then, if you have no other comments to make, I suggest we get going," Nicol said as he turned his back to me.

My breathing became rapid as I considered the one thing that was at the very back of my mind. He was most likely not around any more, but trying never killed anyone did it? Maybe I could get myself saved due to it. Taking a deep breath, I focused my mind on a familiar cool face hoping that my message would get across. Nicol's eyes widened as he spun around to look at me in surprise. "ATHRUN!" I screamed as loud as I could.

As I took air to scream out loud again, the blond male covered my mouth with his hand, pressing tightly against my jaw. If he had done that any faster, he would have dislocated my jaw, but thankfully, I was spared from that pain. "You still call for him? Even though you were betrayed by him?" Nicol asked as he faced me once more.

I shook my head as I struggled against the male. _Even though he chose not to tell me, even though he is not completely human, even if... his kind did slaughter my family, I cannot bring myself to hate him!_ My mind exploded as I felt my eyes were swimming in tears that did not want to fall. Nicol looked stunned as he read my mind as clearly as though I had been screaming it out. He recovered within a moment as he was on alert once more. "Let's go," he said, but I swore I could hear a tint of nervousness in his voice.

Without hesitation, the mutants set off, running faster than any normal human would. As I saw the trees go by me in a blur, I closed my eyes tightly as I began to feel ill. Then without warning, everything was still, even the blond male who carried me stood still as a rock. _Was it over?_ I wondered as I opened my eyes just by a little.

I saw only a glimpse, but that was all that I needed. My eyes snapped wide open as I saw a familiar silhouette standing before the group. "A-athrun..." I breathed, not believing my eyes.

His face was beyond furious as he saw Nicol and the others. "Let Cagalli go," he said icily.

Nicol stepped forward to meet the older male. "And what if I don't? Cagalli's a precious member for the Lab's experiment," he said casually.

Lightning fast, Athrun made a slash at Nicol, who was just barely able to dodge it. Nicol was thrown a few paces back as he lost that angelic smile on his face. He snapped his fingers and the others were immediately up front. Even my captor was there. Seeing that I was free for even the slightest moment. I got off the ground and ran. Unfortunately, my escapade was noticed by none other than Nicol, who captured me within an instant. Throwing me over his shoulders like a piece of luggage, Nicol turned to the other wolves. "Take care of him while I go back," he commanded. "Oh, and if you can, bring him back alive for the lab. He could be a good test subject against our werewolf-to-be,"

Athrun lunged at Nicol only to be blocked by his followers. Going against five of his kind, Athrun was attacked in all directions. As Nicol took off, before Athrun disappeared from my view, tears flowed down my face as he was being torn apart.

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**A/N: Yeah... well, this was a strange chapter I admit... but at least I was able to get through with it. -sweatdrop- Please let me know if anything needs to be rewritten! **

**Well, I'd like to thank everyone for helping me get further into fanfic, because I'm sure that without your support, I probably would have discontinued a while back! Big thanks to (not in any order):  
**

**Hades.Throne.Heiress, cara410, taylaacheer7, cagallirockz, AsuCaga01, Prince-in-Disguise, trulyanimelover06, Devils Anarchist, PinkPrincess511, HorseMagic17, cagalliyulathha, Mage666, MyLiFeIsMuSiC, XxFlyleaf.FanxX, Stelmaria, evilace, midnight blue08, Usako Hoshino, Lems, Courting Torment.**

**My anonymous people: CriTicAl, Kit kat, Littlelink048, cagalli rocks!**

**Hope I didn't forget anyone! If I did, it wasn't intentional. Anyway, please continue to read my fanfic!**


	7. Prisoner

**A/N; Hi everyone! Wow! Those reviews came really fast that even I was surprised! 8) Thanks to your motivation, I was able to finish this chapter rather quickly, though I guess it was shorter than the others. This chapter seemed really easy to write, but I had a lot that I wanted to write down, so I decided to save some of the ideas for later on. I was supposed to post this up yesterday, but thanks to my luck, my internet JUST had to die on me, so it's a day late.**

**I found it rather amusing how a lot of you commented on how 'evil' Nicol was. Truthfully, I had planned on making him evil and then turning him good, but now, I'm not so sure; he'll probably just remain evil for the majority of the chapters. I don't hate him if that was what you were wondering, I like him a lot actually, I just wanted to picture him being evil instead of being a really nice guy. My plan of keeping as many characters in 'character' pretty much failed, but there had to be an evil characters, so I decided that I would use Nicol, as a contrast to the kind person he is in the actual series. I did this chapter within two hours of sitting at the computer and typing non-stop (it was either this or study for a math unit test on quadratic functions... rather obvious on which I chose, eh?) but anyway, hope you like this chapter!**

**Question from the last chapter: (DarkXSpades) What is Cagalli they want from her (except being an experiment)****:**

**Answer: You mean 'What is it that they want from Cagalli?' ... Well, for now, they just want to use her as an experiment for the creation of the werewolf. The scientists believe that they have perfected the formula, but all they need is a suitable being to insert that DNA into. If the human is not suitable for the hosting of the werewolf, then the human dies instantly, so that is why the lab sent out so many wolves (like Nicol and his group) to many towns to search for what they believed to be a 'suitable host'. After seeking out others, Nicol thinks that in the town they were in, Cagalli is the most suitable for the job.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny. I'm merely a big fan of the series who enjoys writing using the characters who all seem to have unique and different personalities.  
**

**

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Chapter 7: Prisoner**

Things flowed through my mind like a blur as I didn't know what was happening to me anymore. As Nicol carried me like a weightless piece of luggage, running like the wind, we broke through the endless forest and into the mountain territory, a place where I did not recognize. All I knew was that I was far far away from home and the hope I had of being rescued died like a candle in the rain. Nicol slowed his pace now, knowing that he was out of harm's reach as he went at the pace of a light jog.

He began going up the mountain, choosing not to take the path that was designed for humans. Nicol lept expertly from cliff to cliff, bringing us higher and higher up the mountain. Even though I knew he wasn't clumsy enough to 'let me go', I couldn't help but shutting my eyes tightly as I knew we were far above ground as I felt the air getting colder by the minute. A few moments more, when I felt the air pressure causing my ears to pop, I peaked downwards with one eye and gasped as I could no longer see the ground.

Suddenly Nicol stopped moving and I glanced up. We had arrived at the top, which was high enough that the lowest cloud surrounded us, giving us little vision. Nicol walked normally through the cloud as I squinted to see what was in store for me. At first I had noticed nothing, but as we came closer, I took a sharp intake as I saw an enormous building that stood hidden in the cloud.

Nicol smiled as he felt my heart beating rapidly. "This is the laboratory, the place where people like me were born; Athrun as well," he said.

At the mention of Athrun's name, I stared at him as he had a satisfied smile upon his face as he continue to walk forward the white building. I took short breaths as breathing was a lot harder now that we were so high up. "Don't worry, inside, our technology is very advanced, circulating fresh air within the lab, so that even humans can stay up there for a long time without suffocating," Nicol explained as he read the fear I had inside my mind.

Nicol raised his bracelet up to the scanner that was at the metal door. "I'm #00286, Nicol Amarfi, reporting back," he said loudly as the scanner read his bracelet and then replied, "Access granted,"

The metal door slid open as I felt a wave of fresh air brush against my face. Nicol stepped in and my eyes widened as we were greeted by a building that had the most unusual feeling. First of all, never in my life had I ever seen abuilding so blinding white. The walls were so white that not even a spec of dust was found. Also, as I could note, there was a smell that went through the air; the smell of sweetness. I frowned as I thought that the smell was rather unnatural. It made my mind go fuzzy.

Nicol walked a few paces before we were greeted by humans in white uniforms. He placed me down onto my feet, though his grip on my arm was tight enough to snap it if I dared to make a move. "Now now, Cagalli. It's a shame that I will have to drop you off here as I have some reporting to do to the chairman. These people will escort you to your cell. See to it that you better not try and escape... attempt for an escapade is not treated lightly, especially after your friend, Athrun broke through," Nicol warned as he handed me over to the workers.

I glared at him as he shot me his smile before leaving. As I felt hands encircling my arms, I glanced upwards at the people who were in control. They looked rather normal... like any human. But then again, so did Nicol and his friends. "Move," one of the two men commanded as he held what seemed like a machine gun behind my back.

With the other holding my arms prisoner, my chances of escape became slim. I moved forward as I calculated things in my head. I glanced down at the gun that was poking at my back. It seemed rather nasty. If I did take the chance to escape, what chance did I have of escaping alive? I noticed earlier that the man who held my arms tightly together had a small hand gun on his belt as well. I swallowed heavily as I knew that I would not be able to escape unharmed.

As much as I hated my situation, I allowed the two men to bring me down numerous hallways, all looking the same. Along the way, I noticed many see through cell walls, containing what seemed to be humans, but as I took a closer look, they all looked like those of the homeless back in my town. Their clothes were old and worn down, their faces were streaked with mud and tears as they looked up as we walked past their cells. Their bloodshot eyes looked at me hopelessly as my own stared back.

Was I going to be like one of them? I suddenly paused without thinking. That earned me a harsh blow against the side of my head. I cried out painfully as I was nearly thrown off my head by that blow. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" I protested as I glanced up at the man with the machine gun in his arms.

His pointed the tip of the gun at the center of my forehead as my eyes grew bigger and bigger at the touch of the cold steel against my warm flesh. "Move forward," he commanded in a cold tone as he looked at me mercilessly.

I swallowed as I hesitantly continued to walk. He seemed to have lost all human emotions as his voice had no warmth. We continued further and further as I noticed as we were passing that the cells that we now came upon had fresher looking people.

There was a man in a business suit, a waitress and many others who looked at me the same way those ragged people had. They came up to the front of their see through cell wall and banged on it, begging for release. The workers paid them no attention as we continued on. My heart grew cold as I saw a small child no bigger than the age of 6 or 7, holding his knees close to his shaking body as he was covered with injuries from head to toe. _What are these people think they're doing?! Why are they abducting so many people? Even a child?!_ My mind screamed as I felt the gun poke into my back once again.

Finally, we paused in front of an empty cell as the man lowered his gun and took out a key card and slotted it against the card slot. The door to the cell slide open as the man that held my arms released me and threw me with force against the floor of the white cell. I winced painfully as I felt my body collide against the hard ground but I whipped my face around as I saw the door closing. "Hey! Wait!" I screamed as I threw my body against the door.

It was no use, as the door was already closed and locked. I banged against it with my hand while I demanded to be released. I yelled until my throat became raw though I knew it was useless because it was soundproof. Finally after a long attempt, I sunk down onto the ground as I knew that there was no possible way that I was going to be able to get out. Any hopes I had had were gone like the wind. Athrun was not coming to save me. How could he? He most likely died after being attacked by so many at once... or even worse, he would be imprisoned once more.

I felt a pang in my heart as I remembered that even though I was being carried off unwillingly by Nicol and the others, I had felt a source of light when I saw Athrun once again. He came back for me even though I had done such an unforgivable thing to him. I felt that he would be able to win against so many, but in the end, he had not succeeded. Tears slipped down my face as my body longed for his warmth, his cool yet kind voice. It seemed that it would be something I would never see again.

* * *

I didn't know how much time had passed as I sat down at the very far corner of my cell, with only the see through wall in the front and one to my right. The cell to my right was also empty, which I suspected would be occupied very shortly. I began to wonder why there were so many people imprisoned like I was. What was our purpose here? Why did they need so many at once? Many questions filled my mind as I held my palm against my forehead wishing that I was anywhere but here.

I raised my head as I saw through my right cell wall that the door had opened there and inside, they threw what seemed like a half-dead giant black dog before locking it up. I blinked several times as I looked at the giant dog who laid on the ground, sides heaving painfully as his body was covered with major wounds. His face was to the side but as I walked closer, I realized that it wasn't a giant dog, but a massive wolf. My eyes grew wider and wider as I recognized this being.

My heart started to beat rapidly as there was only one name that went through my mind. _Athrun!_ My mind screamed as I started to beat my fists against the bullet-proof glass hoping to get his attention. However, due to the walls being soundproof, he did not hear me as he laid there unconscious. I kept trying more and more desperately as Athrun's sides seemed to be heaving with great pain. "Athrun!" I screamed, my voice hoarse.

Then all of a sudden, within a moment, the wolf disappeared and in its place was the form of a human boy. _He changed forms!_ I held my breath as I saw how badly he was wounded. When he was in his other form, many of his wounds were covered beneath his thick fur, but now, as a human, it was a miracle that he was still breathing. His jacket was torn to shreds as he was bleeding in many areas. His t-shirt had an enormous slash through as a deep cut was found.

And his face... his beautiful face was covered with slashes and cuts as a trail of blood ran down his face from his forehead. I pounded on the cell wall more and more heavily as I began to have desperate thoughts. _What happens if Athrun doesn't wake up? Don't tell me he'll die in his sleep!!_ I kept on trying, even when my hands became red and swollen from pounding against the hard bullet-proof glass, I continued on.

Finally, after what seemed to be a long period of time, I noticed that Athrun began to stir. "Athrun!" I cried out, hoping to get his attention.

Athrun's emerald eyes were unfocused as he was blinded by the whiteness of the cells. I watched as he slowly brought his arm over his eyes to shield them. Athrun winced as he tried to move his legs with great pain. I began to pound on the cell walls again, hoping to get his attention. If he had been a regular human, he wouldn't have heard anything at all, but being part wolf, he heard some strange vibrations through the wall and still laying on his side, he slowly began to glance upwards.

I nearly rejoiced as I saw Athrun's eyes widen with shock to see me here as well. A tear slipped down my cheek as I saw Athrun trying to move his body into a sitting position but failed. It seemed that he was too badly injured to maintain a position other than lying down. As he tried again, I pounded on the cell wall and shaking my head frantically at the same time, telling him not to move any more. _He'll only injure himself more._ I thought to myself as I brought myself closer to the cell wall that divided us.

His eyes scanned me from head to toe and noticed that I was hurt as well, though not as badly as he was. I noticed that his mouth opened slowly to say a word though in great pain. I watched as he made out a word with three syllables.

Not understanding, Athrun resaid the word without sound as I noticed that he was breathing painfully. After the third try, I understood what he was trying to say. He was saying my name. More tears slid down my face as I looked down at his broken body; he had the form of a god back in our earlier days, but now, he had not the strength to swat a fly.

Using his arms, Athrun shakily brought himself closer to the cell wall with great pain evident on his face. Then when we were only inches apart, I watched as Athrun brought his left hand up against the glass wall as he called out my name again.

I wiped my tears away with the sleeve of my left arm as I placed my right hand against the glass so that it matched with Athrun's. Athrun looked at me sorrowfully as though apologizing for everything that had happened. I shook my head as I knew I had to be strong. I couldn't show him that I was afraid and weak. Using every ounce of energy I had in my body, I managed to give him a smile.

* * *

**A/N: Jeez, writing this chapter nearly killed me! I really really _really_ hate having Athrun in such a situation, but even great awesome heroes get caught in trouble as well. Truthfully, I haven't sorted out _exactly_ how the two of them are going to get out of this predicament, so the next few chapters might take a while before I update again. I have a few ideas, but like I said, they all have to be linked to each other in some way, right? Well, I'll give you a _tiny tiny _spoiler (well not really, since I already said this in the last chapter, but for those of you who have forgotten or didn't read my author's note...) for the next chapter:**

**_Kira makes an appearance! And he'll make a large impact on not only Cagalli's but also Athrun's lives starting from the next chapter!_**

**Well, I'm happy to say that this story is about half way done. I'm planning for about _15 chapter_. (Funny how my stories keep getting shorter and shorter with the exception of my first fic, because I wrote less in those chapters,) so things will speed up quite a bit. (Wow, I'm chatty VV) Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter and please give me your thoughts! :D  
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	8. Kira

**A/N: Hello everyone! Thanks for all your comments on the last chapter! Sorry that it had been so long since my last update. It's been really busy with school... I hadn't realized that it;s been over a month since my last chapter. Winter break started a few days ago, so it's been pretty relaxing, with the exception that there is TOO much snow! Usually I always wish for a white christmas, but it had snowed for everyday and is not ceasing. Agh... Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Questions and Answers:**

**AthrunCagallimadness: Will athrun's father make an appearance in this story? what about Lacus?**

**-Athrun's father makes a brief appearance in the end of this chapter and as for Lacus, I haven't thought of including her in this fic, but that may change if I have a character planned for her.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny.  
**

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Chapter 8: Kira**

I had lost track of how long I had slept for, but by the time I had regained conciousness, I felt that my pain had minimalized slightly. I kept my eyes shut firmly to block out the blinding white light that bounced off the walls. Thought I had been gone for a month or so, I remembered every little detail about this place. Without needing to look up, I knew that my healing source was shut off. As cruel as these human beings were, they weren't stupid.

Without the moonlight to heal me, it would take at least a month or even more to heal completely. But at least... it was I who took more damage than her. Slowly, I raised my arm over my eyes, feeling pain from the shoulder up. Wincing slightly, I took the time to open my eyes, having sudden whiteness blind me for a second before adjusting.

Laying flat on my back, which was the most comfortable position I could get into with my injuries, I blinked several times before slowly lowering my arm that was screaming in protest. Gently, I turned my head to the side, to look at the cell to my left. Cagalli was laying down fast asleep as she faced towards me. She looked almost peaceful as she slept, despite being where we were. A frown crossed my face as Cagalli began to fill my thoughts.

She was trying to be strong, even though she was scared; I could tell. How I wish I could be by herside and hold her close, telling her that I'm sorry for everything that has happened and that I'll protect her from anything. But how could I achieve that if I couldn't even get myself into a sitting position? It was my fault that she got dragged into this, looking at her up and down, she was covered in bruises and cuts and even the side of her head was bleeding slightly, as though she had a blow to the head. Gritting my teeth, I swore to take revenge. Not only for myself, but also for Cagalli's and everyone who was trapped here.

I brought my hand to a fist, squeezing it tightly. _Nicol..._ It had been little over a month, and yet he changed so much. Though he was a year younger, we had been close cellmates, comforting each other's injuries when we were together.

Even though I was a direwolf, I was often placed amongst the noble wolves. There, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol and I became close friends. The other direwolf and I never got along, he was rather wild and untameable, attacking the humans who came close enough. Finally, the order was given from my father, who called for this other direwolf to be exterminated and so I was left at the highest of the pyramid of strength.

When Nicol had appeared once again in front of me, I could already tell that he wasn't the one that I had grown up with, he was vicious, something that the old Nicol never contained. He was cruel and filled with bloodlust. Nicol was against the idea of continuing the experimentation with human captives, but now... he was even helping with the experiment. Thinking back to when I saw Nicol a few days back, I winced at his words.

_After you escaped, the humans tortured us non-stop, trying to perfect their experiments. It hurt so much, but you wouldn't understand. Each of us screamed in our heads why didn't you come and save us? Why did you abandon us, your friends? _

My face pulled a painful expression as I could imagine what they had gone through. Having tubes inserted into your body at multiple areas, taking hundreds and hundreds of injections and more. Dreaded horror went through my mind as I remembered how happy I had been that I was free... free of this torture while I lived a good life with Cagalli while the others were suffering because of it. What could I do to cleanse my sins? Gritting my teeth, my mind was set; I was going to save everyone.

Suddenly, I heard a soft faint rapping sound against the super-glass cell wall. The walls were soundproof., though being the top of the wolves gave me an advantage. Even though I couldn't hear things clearly, I was able to hear something with my sensitive, enhanced hearing. Turning my head to the side towards Cagalli's cell, I saw her looking down at me worriedly.

She opened and closed her mouth several times, slowly forming words as she placed both of her palms against the cell wall. Cagalli seemed rather anxious as she got into a kneeling position. Watching the formation of her lips move, my intelligent brain began to work, deciphering each movement and forming them into words. _"Are you doing any better?"_ she was asking.

_Was I doing any better​?_ I guess I could say that. I could just about move my limbs though I still felt the protest in my body. I was careful not to move my legs, for surely, one of them took a lot of damage. However, despite facing several broken bones, these would heal within some time, due to the benefits of being a mutant. I gave her a small nod, to reassure her that I was okay. When she sighed in relief she gave me an encouraging smile.

* * *

After halfway through the month, being held prisoner, the majority of my wounds were now healed, though it was a very slow process without the moonlight. I was able to sit up and move about. Glancing over at Cagalli, her wounds were still there, though less visible. Over the past few weeks, I had noticed that Cagalli's appearance hasn't changed much, but how was she on the inside? How much longer could she last? The food was drugged, as I had tasted earlier, so I had warned Cagalli not to eat a lot of it. The drugs were short lasting, though they were powerful. I could handle not eating for a month completely if I had to, but how could a normal human survive on a small ration of food each day?

I knew she was starving, but in order to escape, we could not afford to be drugged. However, that was only one of the worries I had. The days following after, made me lose all appetite, if I had been longing for the taste of food. With my back against the back cell wall, I looked up as I saw shadows walking down this hallway. There were the guardians, the people who worked in this facility, but that was not my source of growing horror.

The four guardians carried an enormous wooden stretcher and on it were the corpses of numerous humans. Their bodies were disfigured from the failure of the transfer of werewolf DNA. One of the corpses had their face completely burned off, having nothing, not even eye sockets. A chill went down my spine as the guardians passed my cell with zero emotion and warmth as they went to discard the bodies into the furnace nearby.

Suddenly, I realized with horror as I turned my face sharply to glance into Cagalli's cell. She had also witnessed the corpses as her pale face turned white as her eyes widened with horror. Being an innocent human being, she should have never seen something like this. I watched helplessly as Cagalli brought her knees closer to her body and trembled in fear.

I knew what was going on inside her head. _When was our turn going to come?_ That was what I read from her white face. Gritting my teeth, we had to get out soon. Judging from the numerous corpses that had just passed, I guessed about more than half of the victims were already used up and how many more had gone through a different route? Soon, it was to be our turn.

* * *

The next few days, Cagalli's behavior was completely abnormal. She was so normal that I had thought she was going insane. After witnessing the event that had took place yesterday, it wouldn't be strange for a human to withdraw themselves into the corner and remain that way for a while, but Cagalli seemed to have gotten over it rather quickly.

The guardians had a new guardian, who couldn't be much older than we were. He had tanned skin with wavy chocolate brown hair and a gentle face. He was in charge of our cell hallway. This boy often came to deliver our food and water supply while looking at us sympathetically. Unlike the other guardians, his eyes were kind, signifying that he was unused to all of this and had little choice but to work here.

Sometime during the day, as he brought food for Cagalli, I watched as she made a conversation with him, talking with him and even at a point, he gave her a small smile. I frowned as I wondered what Cagalli was up to, befriending this boy. They talked for quite a bit before the boy got up and left her cell then visiting mine. He gave me my tray of food and a small nod before leaving. As he left, my eyes turned over to meet Cagalli's. _'What are you planning?'_ I mouthed.

Cagalli shook her head and only replied, _'You'll see,'_

The days after, Cagalli kept up with her strategy, talking to the boy whenever he came around, for longer each time. It seemed that the boy was easy to get along with and that he liked Cagalli, for what other reason would he continue to talk to her. To my surprise, both Cagalli and the boy stood up, walking towards the door of the cell. Keeping a wary eye on Cagalli, he slowly lead her over to the door of my cell and unlocked the door. "Please keep it short, I'm not supposed to be doing this," said the boy.

Cagalli nodded. "Thanks, Ahmed, I really appreciate it," she replied back as she stepped into my cell and the door closed behind her.

I blinked in surprise as I heard her voice, it had well been a month and over since I had last heard it. Getting up, I was about to move towards Cagalli when she ran and hugged me tightly. Surprised by her force, my legs gave way and I landed on my back with Cagalli on top. I winced as I felt my back hit the hard floor but slowly forgot about it as I felt her warmth and nearness. "Cagalli?" it had also been a long time since I used my voice.

"A-athrun..." Cagalli's voice trembled.

Putting my self in a sitting position, I returned her embrace. She was always close, yet never has she been this close. Cagalli was very warm and her slim body fit well against mine as I wrapped my arms around her protectively. I felt Cagalli do the same as she locked her arms around my waist. I felt really happy. Despite being her neighboring cellmate, I could not hear her nor could I hold her for my own. Despite given a limited amount of time, I was more than sastified.

Slowly releasing her, I looked at her, seeing my own reflection in her brilliant ember eyes. Her face was streaked with dirt and tears brimmed at her eyes. Using my hand, I gently brushed them away as Cagalli smiled. "How have you been?" she asked.

A small smile lit my face. "Been better now than ever," I replied back.

"Are you completely healed now?" Cagalli asked as she inspected me from head to toe.

I cocked my head side to side, loosening up my muscles. "More or less, just a little sore in some parts of the muscle," I replied. "And you?"

Cagalli smiled. "Psh, I don't heal as fast as you do, but then again, my injuries weren't as bad as yours," she said.

My eyes drifted over to the wound near the top of her forehead, on the first day I was brought back, it had been bleeding, but now it seemed to have healed and the blood dried. Cagalli took my hand and placed it against the side of your face. "It almost seems as though our lives were back to normal," she said quietly.

I nodded. "_Almost_. We still have to get out of here," I replied.

"Don't worry, I have a plan," Cagalli said.

By this time, the boy, Ahmed, who Cagalli had called, rapped on the door signifying that it was time for Cagalli to go back. She gave my upperbody a quick embrace as she whispered, "Be prepared to follow me at any given time,"

As she left, the warmth also went with her. Cagalli paused for a moment as she looked back at me. I nodded, telling her that I understood.

There was no action for another day. Then sometime just before the time where Ahmed would bring us food, Cagalli fell down unconcious. Alert, I pounded on the cell wall, trying to get her to answer back, but to no was going on? As Ahmed came around the corner, he was also surprised, but also concerned about his friend. Without much thought, he went over to her side immediately, leaving the door wide open.

With Cagalli lying on her front, he shook her shoulders, while calling out her name. When Cagalli didn't stir, Ahmed began to become frantic, since it had been his duty to look over the prisoners in this hallway. Then suddenly, Cagalli snapped open her eyes, swiped the card from Ahmed's hand, which caused him to become off guard. As fast as a cheetah, Cagalli lept onto her feet and was already in the doorway as soon as Ahmed got onto his feet. In the doorway, I saw her saying something to Ahmed which caused him to stop. Cagalli placed her right hand over her heart as she continued her saying. After she finished, Ahmed paused for a moment, possibly to consider what she was saying and finally nodded.

Cagalli gave him a grateful smile as she closed his door and then opened the door to my cell with the same card. **(A/N: The cells in the same hallway use the same card.)** I was already on my feet by the time the door slid open and swiftly, I was out the door. "Let's go," I said.

Changing into my quicker form, I carried Cagalli on my back as we raced down the hallways. All of the other cells in our hallway were already emptied of their prisoners, indicating that we were already too late to save them. "I promised him... that I will come back and free him from all of this," Cagalli said quietly as her voice was full of determination.

I gave a small nod of my head as I understood, since I also had people I wanted to free, however, this was not the time. We had to get back and regroup before charging in once again. I sped down the halls, knowing that it wouldn't be too much longer before someone would notice our disappearance and sound the alarm. Hearing faint footsteps, I halted immediately, changing back into my human form to avoid my massive wolf form to be seen. We hid around the corner as the footsteps approached. Cagalli held her breath as they came closer and closer to our spot, which was just inches away. I swallowed as I saw the shadow was coming toward us. Any moment now, I had to pounce on the unsuspecting person to allow Cagalli time to get away.

As I was about to leap forward, the shadow stopped moving as another set of footsteps could be heard. "What's going on?" I heard the body of the shadow ask.

The second person seemed slightly out of breath. "There seems to have been a breach, over in hall A15," he answered.

"Ok, I got it," the first person replied. "Go secure the other areas while I head over there, we can't let them escape!"

The two guardians set off in different directions as I heard Cagalli breathe in relief. "It's not over yet," I murmured softly.

Since my first escapade, things would be much more difficult now. "Once you get on, lower yourself as much as possible, that way, if we were to face any guns, there is a low percentage that you would get hit," I advised.

"But what about you?" Cagalli questioned as I saw the anxiousness in her eyes.

I gave her a small smile. "My fur is pretty thick, even if I do get shot, it wouldn't be too effective," I replied. "Let's move,"

I managed to take a few steps before the alarm broke through. Gritting my teeth, I made a run for it. With far vision I could see that guardians were already running in all direction. I met up with the first wave of guardians. As they aimed for me, I built up my speed and charged forward. Cagalli held tightly around my neck as she lowered herself as much as possible. The bullets began to fly as I whisked through the air and landed quickly. One of the bullets grazed the side of my belly, but I continued to take off.

As soon as I was out of the area, the bullets whizzing by decreased. I continued to run, by now, almost in the center of the facility. More and more guardians showed up. I gritted my teeth and I saw that there were too many in front to break through unharmed. If I got shot, it wouldn't be too much trouble, however, there was Cagalli to risk. If somehow I had lost control and Cagalli slipped off, they would hold her hostage in an instant, forcing me to surrender. My eyes shifted to the sides, now all three passages in front were covered. "Ready... aim.." the commanding guardian ordered.

"FI-"

His command was interrupted as I let out a large growl, scaring off some of the unsuspecting ones. I took off into the hallway straight ahead. I lept over the guardians' heads and took off, dodging the flying bullets as they came. I managed to avoid most of them except that a tranquilizer missile struck into my arm.

I winced as I nearly lost by balance causing Cagalli to nearly fly off my back. "Athrun! You okay?" Cagalli asked once she regained her hold.

I grunted my apologies as I continue to run, trying to keep my arm from going numb. I was nearly there to the exit. I defeated any guardians that stood in my way, with the whip of my iron tail. As we made out to the exit, all that was left was to get off from the mountain, but as we approached the edge, I halted, sensing another being in the cloud with us. I bared my teeth as it approached. "It's been a while," said a familiar voice.

I raised my hackles as I glared at him with fury. It was the one voice which I hated the most in this world. It belonged to Patrick Zala, my father. "I've seen you're quite the clever one, are you not, my son?" he continued.

I heard Cagalli take short breaths of air as I realized that there was little fresh air out here due to the extreme height of this mountain. I had to finish this fast. "Not so fast, I want you to meet my newest creation, the werewolf," he said.

My eyes widened as in the mist approached another figure, as large as I was. It stepped out to reveal a chocolate-brown werewolf, whose red eyes were filled with bloodlust, even more so than Nicol and the other noble wolves. He wanted to rip me into shreds immediately, as though I was his archenemy. I've never felt something so strong as his hatred; it nearly made me shrink away, though I was supposed to be the top creature of the pyramid of strength.

"This is Hades, he was created from one of the humans that the others have gathered. While all the other experiments had failed, he was the only one that survived," Patrick explained. "Don't you think Hades is the perfect name? God of the Underworld and Death, suits a superior being like the werewolf,"

I growled as Hades began to go on all fours, challenging me for a fight. Immediately, I shrugged my body for Cagalli to get off. I had to get Cagalli down from here, she wouldn't last much longer. Hades launched his attack first, his weight threw me off guard, being heavier than even I was. He was vicious, snapping his jaws at me while I tried to fend him off. His claws scraped my stomach and caused a heavy wound. I winced as I backed off, panting heavily after the first encounter. Hades charged again, however this time I was more prepared, I lept to the side as I saw him come.

Moving quickly, I slammed my jaws shut onto his tail, making Hades growl loudly. He bent his body flexibly as he bit deeply into the back of my neck. Howling in pain, I twisted to get free, but Hades was very strong. I struck his stomach with my claws and forced him to release me. I was thrown to my feet but as I tried to get up again, the tranquilizer began to take effect. Being unstable, I couldn't maintain a standing position and fell to my feet once again.

Hades, seeing that he now was at an advantage came around to finish me off, but before I knew what was happening, I saw a figure shield me in front. "Please.. I beg you to stop!" Cagalli cried out with heavy breathing as she thrust out her arms to protect me.

Hades stopped as he stared at Cagalli. As their eyes met, he began to shake his body furiously, as though he was in great pain. He began to howl and jerk wildly causing Patrick to back off, with shock written all over his face. It seemed as though Hades was fighting with himself on the inside. Seeing that that the werewolf form could no longer take the pain, I immediately took Cagalli in my jaws and got off the edge while he was still distracted on changing back to his human form. As I went over the cliff, I felt Cagalli turn and as she looked back, her wide eyes were filled with horror.

Getting down the mountain was quite difficult with a numb arm, but I had to do it, or else we would die, falling from this height. Moving from cliff to cliff, I slowly made my descent, like the first time I had done. Eventually, after an exhausting effort, I made my way back to flat ground and into the forest, where it shielded us. Knowing that we cannot go back home, we had to find another place to take shelter.

I continued to run awkwardly, getting us further and further away from the mountain. Finally, when I thought we were far enough, I slowed my run once I found an empty cave. As soon as I entered the cave, I slumped down in exhaustion, causing Cagalli to fall off my back. I panted heavily as I changed back into my human form as being in a direwolf form was very draining. I looked at Cagalli who slowly pulled herself into a sitting position. "We.. made it," I made out.

Cagalli said nothing as she also panted heavily. We remained in silence as we caught our breath. As I did so, there was something that had been bothering me. Just why did Hades stop his attack when Cagalli interferred?

"Cagalli," I called out.

Cagalli raised her head as I spoke her name. "Why did Hades stop when you asked him to?" I asked.

I watched as Cagalli brought her knees closer to her body as though she didn't want to believe reality. "Who is he?" I asked again.

With a trembling voice, Cagalli looked at me with tears in her eyes as she spoke, "T-that was Kira... my twin brother,"

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**A/N: Well there you have it! Numerous of you thought that Kira was going to be the superhero that would save Athrun, but from the beginning I had planned on making Kira the bad guy. I hope this chapter wasn't too rushed, since I realized that today was Christmas and thus, I had to finish the chapter for you all as a christmas present from me. Hope you liked this chapter and will continue to read my fanfics!**

**Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!  
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	9. Pain

**A/N: Hey everyone! Remember me? I'm the crappy author that has not updated since Decemeber! Wah! I cannot say how many times I can so sorry for not updating for so long! I honestly did not know how to continue the story from where I left off, because whatever I came up with didn't seem to work the way I want it. I'm sure I lost quite a few readers due to not updating for so long, but for those who still want to read, I'm really grateful! Also, thanks to all of your support in the last chapter and telling me to update, finally made me sit and type this out for the past few hours. I can't thank y'all enough!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed/Destiny nor Sunrise  
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**Chapter 9: Pain**

I stared at her, unable to believe her words. "B-brother?... You mean that was _Kira_," I said as I looked at her disheartened figure.

Cagalli gave a nod of her head as she held her knees close to her body. "It was him... t-there's no way I could mistake him for someone else," she said quietly, her voice wavering slightly.

I exhaled deeply as I took my place in front of her. I, myself had not seen Hades' transformation as I had taken this chance to flee, but I could feel the truth in Cagalli's words. When Hades had emerged from the mist, I had felt something strangely particular about him as though I knew him. However, every thought I had began to feel uneasy as he showed his true self, making him the most dangerous and feared living being that I had met. I could feel his urge to kill, to spill blood; to kill me. For the great of the great, I had felt fear. How could this monster possible be the kind gentle boy that I had seen in the photos of he and his twin sister?

Shaking aside these thoughts, I allowed myself to be brought back to the present. "Kira, he... must have been a captive like you and the others, though he was the only one to have survived," I said quietly as the images of numerous corpses piled on top of each other passed my cell.

"If only..."

I glanced at her as she bit her lower lip to prevent her voice from trembling. Her bangs hid her eyes, but I could see that they were on the verge of tears. "If only... we had gotten out sooner. T-then, maybe he wouldn't have turned into H-hades," Cagalli said softly, her voice breaking on Hades' name.

Then in the darkness, I heard her sniff as her body began to quiver. A small crystal of liquid slid down her cheeks as she curled herself into a ball. Without hesitation on my part, I moved forward as I took her body into my arms, holding her tightly against my chest. I heard a small startle from her as I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and her waist, but I didn't release her. I felt complete with her; her body fitted perfectly against mine as she buried her head into my chest.

I felt Cagalli's tears sink into my clothes as I was in pain seeing her in such distress. I brought my hand up to stroke the back of her head to soothe her. "We'll save him, him and everyone else," I said quietly.

Not much time passed as Cagalli succumbed to her exhaustion and eventually fell to sleep. Her head rested gently on my lap as I stroked her hair. Cagalli's face was tear-stained, but at least for now, she had stopped her tears. I gritted my teeth as I knew that Kira was her only remaining family, and now with the state that he was in, it was worse than being dead. He was a captive of the Lab.

How many more lives will Father ruin? Not only those that are captured, but also those who cherish their missing loved ones? How many had lost the ones that mattered to them as much as Cagalli mattered to me? I couldn't imagine a world in which such a kind soul like her didn't exist. What did such a kind, innocent human do to be thrown into such a dark, twisted world?

Nothing. More and more lives will be affected as long as Patrick Zala was alive; my father. He believed to be creating a new line of humans that are more capable than the ones existing now, but what good are they if they convey no feelings towards anything except for battle and blood? It was wrong, it is going against the laws of nature. Beings such as I shouldn't be existing in the first place.

I looked down on Cagalli's peaceful sleeping face as I brushed her bangs out of her eyes. In the dim moonlight, her face was beautifully pale as her moist eyelashes sparkled. "I'll restore things the way they are, I promise you, Cagalli," I whispered as I gently placed her head on my abandoned jacket as I stood up.

I walked out of the cave as my eyes quickly adjusted to the lighting. Climbing to the top of the cave in my wolf form, I bathed myself in moonlight, watching my wounds heal quickly. It had been a long time since I had felt the welcoming power of the moon since I had been held captive. I shook out my newly-healed body as I felt I could challenge any creature of the forest. I frowned as I thought that there was only one whom I could not defeat. _I have to become stronger._

_-----_

Sunlight gently lit the cave as the sun rose, signaling a new day. I opened my eyes and looked down to the sleeping figure beside me. She had not stirred since last night. A small smile crept across my face as I thought that she must have been extremely tired. Slowly, I got into a kneeling position as I gently moved Cagalli's sleeping figure into a more comfortable position. Laying my beaten jacket over her like a blanket, I stood up and walked to the mouth of the cave.

_Cagalli hasn't eaten since our escapade... I can't risk it by going into the city, since surely, they'll be on the lookout for us. Hunting for myself is not a problem, though I highly doubt that she is used to eating from the forest._ I thought to myself, but as I weighed my options, it would seem that Cagalli would have to make do from the food in the forest.

I made my way through the forest, not in much of a hurry, since my body still ached somewhat from my last encounter with Hades. It was quite early, sometime just after the sunrise as my surroundings told me. The forest was very peaceful as not many creatures were awake and strolling about. But once I made my presence clear, small creatures such as squirrels and rabbits quickly scampered away. I wasn't interested in small creatures, it were the big ones that I wanted. As I traveled further into the forest, I came upon a promising spot. I laid low as I waited patiently for my breakfast to come.

It didn't take long for something of interest to come into my sight. My ears perked up long before I had spotted it as its heavy muscular body broke through the bushes. Dark brown in color, the creature moved slowly, also searching for food. It was a strong adult male moose. His antlers were one of his weapons, but I wasn't afraid; I was hungry. Leaping out from my hiding spot, I lunged at the moose, missing by a few inches.

The moose may have been big, but when it had heard me coming, he instinctively dodged out of my way. I bared my teeth as I prepared myself for a fight. I got into a ready stance as the moose kicked the ground lightly with its hooves. He was also about to charge. At the slightest movement from him, I lept out of the way, but its large antlers had caught me as he ran forwards. He then tossed his head high, throwing me towards the tree behind him.

Instinctively, as I was thrown into the air, I flipped my body around so that my feet would land first. Bouncing off the bark of the solid tree, I landed squarely onto the moose's back. Grabbing on with my claws, I lowered my neck and bit into the neck. The moose roared in pain as he shook his mighty body, trying to throw me off. I held on as my body swayed back and forth. The moose ran towards a nearby tree as he threw the side of his body against the tree. Just avoiding being squashed by a few inches, I had let go and lept back down onto the ground, panting slightly. The moose spun around to face me once more, anger deep in his eyes. Despite being injured the way he was, his pride would not let him run away from this challenge.

I swallowed as I knew that I should give him a quick death. The moose charged towards me once again, lowering his antlers, but it was a fatal mistake for him. I dodged his attack by jumping off to the side and then added a counter attack by striking straight towards his neck. I bit deeply as his salty blood filled my mouth. The moose stubbornly shook his head back and forth, but as my fangs sunk in, the moose lost consciousness and went down.

After thanking him for the battle, I ate to my fill. Once my stomach was full again, I began looking for Cagalli's breakfast. I continued my way through the forest, on the lookout. As I came upon a clearing, my ears perked as I heard the sound of gentle water flowing. Water meant fish. Surely, she'd be able to eat that, even if it was from the wilderness. Picking up my pace, I didn't slow down until water came into sight. I paused for a moment to take a look at my surroundings. It was quite a sight; the greenest grass that you would ever see grew here. The gentle soft water flowed peacefully downhill as it was full of life.

I would have to show Cagalli this later on; I'm sure she would like it. Peering over, I saw an occasional trout that swam by, quickly scattering when they saw my reflection in the water. When one came close enough, I quickly dipped my paw into the water and scooped it up towards the air. The fish flung over my head and landed softly onto the ground, trashing and struggling to breathe. Within quick moments, its movements became still and I picked it back up. Looking up at the sky, the sun was already quite high, signaling that it was late morning.

_I'd better go now; Cagalli will awake soon._ I made my way through the forest, not in too much of a hurry, but at a good pace. Only about a mile or so away from where the cave was sited, I felt a bad sensation go over me as I moved. Not hesitating at the slightest, I picked up my pace as I went back, concerned for what this meant. My heart quickened at the feeling. _What is going on? Something with Cagalli.. but what?!_

In a few quick moments, I arrived at the mouth of the cave where we had spent last night, but as I peered inside, I could see that Cagalli was no longer there. Abandoning the fish that I had brought, I took off in the direction of her scent at the fastest that I could go. Going through bushes, dodging trees, and changing directions; my pace did not slow. As I got nearer and nearer to her body heat, my heart felt icy cold as I spotted that she was surrounded by a pack of wild wolves with dropped nuts around her.

"_Why are you in our territory, human?!" _A male snarled viciously as he snapped his jaws at her. _"Are you wanting to take even more of us for your inhumane projects? Well I won't let you!"_

As he was about to leap out at Cagalli, who held out her arms for protection, I roared, soaring above the clearing and slammed right into the large male wolf from the side. My surprise attack threw the wolf unguarded and sent him crashing into the ground a few meters away. I heard cries of surprise and concern, but I paid no mind. I heard Cagalli took a quick breath as she realized that she was spared. "A-a-athrun," she breathed.

I watched, wary as the male wolf got back onto his feet. He stared at me with an angry fire in his dark eyes. _"I was right after all, seeing such an unnatural being as yourself protecting that human proves that you are both here to take us,"_ He snarled. _"But we will kill you and your human before you do so!"_

Before I had the chance to reply, the wolf lunged at me. As I instinctively dodged, out of the corner of my eye, I could see other wolves attacking at the same time. Ducking and dodged, I head-butted one of the lesser wolves in the stomach, sending him crashing into another. _"Wait! What do you mean 'take us'?" _I demanded as they continued to fight.

"_That's what they all say, but more and more of us are disappearing and it is all your people's fault! That human's as well!"_ the Male growled. _"Kill her!"_

Cagalli was also going to be targeted as well. No matter how much I disliked killing wolves, who shared my blood, it seemed that it was necessary this time. Spinning around, I was about to sink my teeth into the attacking wolf, but a voice suddenly cried out, _"STOP FIGHTING!"_

Not only did I freeze to the familiar voice, but the offending wolves did as well. They all spun their heads towards the direction where the voice was heard. I stared as I saw the familiar silhouette of black fur and red eyes approach the scene. Followed behind him was another pack of wolves. _Is that Shinn?_ I wondered as he arrived at the scene.

"_Shinn," _the Male wolf greeted. _"Why did you stop us?" _he sounded between angry and annoyed.

Shinn, the young male wolf that I had befriended, panted heavily before us. _"Von, he's not one of them,"_ he explained.

The male wolf, Von, looked at him in disbelief. _"What do you mean, 'not one of them'? Just look at him! No wolf is that large, nor as strong. He is not one of Nature's creatures,"_ he retorted.

"_I mean that he isn't with them. Sure, he is stronger than we are, but he's a good wolf! Heck, he even saved me on an occasion,"_ Shinn replied. _"He is not our enemy,"_

I felt the uncertainty in the air as the wolves wondered whether or not to trust Shinn's opinion. Von stepped forward and looked at the young wolf straight in the eye. Impressively, Shinn, the younger wolf, did not glance away as he returned his gaze. _"Then who is our enemy?"_ Von demanded.

"_The ones that take us away from our families,"_

I blinked as I followed the conversation between the two wolves. Taking this chance, I felt Cagalli come closer to me and hung lightly onto the ends of my fur. Getting a grasp of who they were talking about, I decided to intervene. _"Are the ones you speak of, similar to me?"_ I asked.

The wolves looked at me surprised as though they had already forgotten that I was there all along. Another young male, one who had tried to attack me earlier, nodded. _"Y-yes.. big and strong as well.. they didn't hesitate to kill on sight," _he said.

"_Tristan, know your place!" _Von scolded the younger wolf as he stared at me icily. _"And you, who are so much like them, what is your relation to these wolves?"_ he demanded.

"_We are from the same place..." _I answered.

I watched as Von's face was twisted with fury. He spun around to face Shinn, who sat there waiting for his reaction. _"See! He even admits it! He is one of them!"_ Von snarled.

"_...However, I escaped alone and my ties to the place are severed,"_ I continued.

All the wolves looked at me in surprise, as though they didn't know what to think. There was a short pause of silence until a wolf decided to step forward. _"Then what about the members of our pack who were taken? What is being done to them? How can we save them?" _a female adult asked.

"_The wolves that are taken are at the high mountain that peaks above the clouds north-west of here. They are taken for experimentation, though the weakest are not expected to survive,"_ I answered. _"As for saving, it is a small chance that you will be able to save them, for the technology that the humans have is very advanced, as from what you can see from the likes of me, who had my genes altered in that same place,"_

The wolves took what I said with consideration. They begun to look at one another for a decision on what to do next. Even Von, the prideful male seemed at a loss for what to say. Finally, Shinn stepped forward. _"Athrun,"_ he called out my name.

"_... Is it possible for you to help us regain the ones that we've lost? I understand that you are also unhappy with these humans who ill-treated you for so long,"_ Shinn said.

I nodded my head. _"My target is also to take down the Lab and set the prisoners and end the so-called 'experiments'. This girl and I have also lost our loved ones to the Lab," _I replied. _"So I guess that would be helpful on both sides,"_

The air surrounding us became lighter as the wolves looked less stony. Knowing that they had an ally, they were slightly more at ease and had more confidence within them. It took a while, but eventually, the wolves accepted Cagalli and me, promising that they would not harm her but instead, protect her as though she was one of their own. Though we were still at a disadvantage in strength, we were plentiful in numbers. It seemed that with work done, it would be possible to stand up to the members of the Lab. _The swaying candlelight of hope suddenly became a little brighter._

_

* * *

__Elsewhere..._ _An electrifying sound could be heard in the distance as well as many cries of agony and pain that followed with it._ "Enough," a cold voice signaled the controllers.

The electric waves stopped flowing through his body as the boy panted heavily, as though back from the verge of death. Heavy beads of sweat flowed from his face as his arms and legs were chained to the walls that carried electricity. From top to bottom, his body was badly beaten, many unhealed wounds and signs of whipping could been seen on the boy's body. "Do you understand now, Hades?" the icy voice asked quietly. "You cannot be weak. If you do not follow my orders, this will be your fate,"

Hades did not reply, instead he continue to pant heavily, taking in greedy mouthfuls of air. "Are you sure you cleansed his memories?" the voice asked the scientists beside him.

"Yes, Director Zala. Though he was relentless and strong, eventually, we were able to penetrate his mind. He should have no recollection of his past life," he reassured him.

"Very well. His results should prove to be better than the first time. Keep a close watch on him," Patrick ordered.

"Yes sir,"

Hades' legs gave in as he fell to his knees. His arms were still chained to the wall, but at least now, he was breathing easier. As he closed his eyes, his mind was in total darkness, except for one thing. As Hades focused his mind, he could see a blurry distance image of a blond girl running towards him, laughing as she mouthed something that he could not understand. _Who is this girl? Why do I have her in my mind?_ Hades asked himself. She seemed familiar, but he did not know why. After a short moment, Hades recalled Patrick's words. _I cannot be weak._

_No matter who she is, I will kill her if she stands in my path, even if she was supposed to be someone important._

* * *

**A/N: I hope that was satisfying for you guys! I haven't written for so long, so my skills have gotten rusty... -cringe- Hope that it still makes sense and I apologize once again for making you guys go back and re-read for those who don't remember what had happened. Anyway, if there is anything that needs to be changed, don't hesitate in letting me know and I'll redo it ASAP. Well then, see you at the next chapter (that won't be done until the beginning of summer due to my exams coming up)!**


	10. Promise

**A/N: Hi everyone! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed for the last chapter! I got over 100 reviews! So happy!! :) So to thank you all for your hard work, I kept my promise that I would update when my summer officially began.. (coincidentally, this chapter is also called 'Promise'. Wow... it's been over a year since I first published this.. so I'm really happy that you guys were able to help me pull through! Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Promise**

It had been several hours since Athrun had spoken to the wolves. Giving me a quick run down on the fact that the wild wolves were on our side, I couldn't help but feel slightly more at ease; we now had a strong ally. However, anxiousness still filled my heart as I wondered whether or not it would be enough. Not only were the captives of the Lab numerous, but they were also strong, stronger than the average wolf. And so, Athrun had taken it upon himself to coach and train these wolves so they would know what was in store for them. I sat down underneath the shade of the rees and watched as the wolves lunge at each other, snarling and baring their teeth. Though everyone was now on friendly terms, it still seemed as though they wanted to tear each others' hearts out.

But I shouldn't have been worried; Athrun clearly knew what he was doing. He moved flawlessly, dodging each and every attack while countering with his own. His attacks were enough to throw one off his feet, but not severely injuring them. I sighed; it seemed that everyone had a part to do, but me. As I leaned against the tree, strangely, I felt a pair of eyes watch me. Turning around, I saw a young wolf looking at me curiously. On a closer look, it appeared that the wolf was a female, as she seemed less muscular.

She had a lighter coat than the rest of the wolves. It was like a honey-brown, which was highly unusual for a wolf. As I met her eyes, I realized that she was studying me the way that I was doing to her. Swallowing nervously, I reached out a hand towards here. "Come over here, girl," I said gently as the wolf watched my movement.

She didn't seem the type to attack. The wolf seemed rather curious as she slowly approached my outstretched hand, though cautious at the same time. "I won't hurt you," I said again in the same tone, recalling Athrun's words.

"_Not matter what humans say, wolves are rather intelligent and can understand parts of human speech. It's the humans the refuse to acknowledge that fact,"_

Slowly, the she-wolf made her way over to my hand and finally, when she was just an arm's reach away, she placed the top of her head into the palm of my hand, similar to what I've seen dogs do in the city. Gently and slowly, I stroked her smooth glossy fur, not daring to breathe. Feeling a movement coming, my hand froze as the she-wolf stepped back and shook her body out before lying down next to me. I exhaled in relief as the wolf seemed to sense no danger from me. I placed my hand on her head and stroked her once more.

She was rather tame for a wolf, yet I felt that she wasn't entirely a wolf. _More like a dog, I think.. I wonder what her name is.. I should ask Athrun about that later on._ Seeing that she also had nothing to do, the female went into a light slumber as a repetitive breathing could be heard from her. I smiled, which was funny, despite the troubled times we were in. It felt nice to have a peaceful atmosphere.

* * *

As night slowly made its way, the she-wolf awoke as the other young wolves called her over to join them. Giving me a glance before she left told me that she had taken a liking to me. I grinned to myself; I had made another wolf friend. And speaking of 'wolf friend', it was just then that I noticed another figure approaching me. Glancing down at the lower fields, the practice between Athrun and the wild wolves seemed to have paused for the moment. The dark-coated wolf paused for a second in front of me before lying down, placing his head on my lap. I was slightly surprised at first, but then grew accustomed to the weight quickly. What seemed like a wolf-ish sigh, the wolf changed forms so that the being that was lying on my lap was now Athrun in his human form.

He made no effort to move as though he looked comfortable in that position. "How are they?" I asked as I looked down at the face of perfection.

Athrun opened his eyes so that his emerald pupils met my amber ones. "Not as bad as I had originally though, but of course, we have a long way to go," he replied truthfully. "Though he is rather hot-tempered, Von proved himself to be a worthy fighter,"

I nodded. "Well, he is pretty large... so I guess he would be rather strong," I said. "... Do you think we can win against Kira?" I asked.

I felt Athrun's body tense slightly at the mention of the name but eased up within a fraction of a second. "I don't know, but nothing is impossible," he answered, "Especially for wolves that become stronger and stronger for each time they lose,"

I brought my hand to his hair line and began to stroke it gently. His hair was as smooth as his fur, and slipped beneath my fingers as water did. "Then... does that apply for you as well?" I asked.

Athrun gave another little sigh as he closed his eyes. "What do you think?" he said, making no motion to swat my hand away. "Mm, that feels good," he murmured.

A smile came upon my face as Athrun really did seem rather wolfish at times. Dogs and wolves enjoyed their heads being stroked and it seemed that Athrun was no exception. Despite our troubles, the atmosphere around us was quite peaceful. "You know, earlier, you really had me worried, when I found that you were missing," Athrun said suddenly, his eyes staring into mine.

My hand paused as I was surprised that he started to speak all of a sudden. I lowered my gaze guiltily as I recalled being nearly torn to pieces by the wilderness wolves. "...I'm sorry, I didn't expect that to happen," I admitted. "When I woke to find you gone, I decided to look around for something to eat, but as I heard a growling sound, I dropped everything I had and tried to defend myself,"

Athrun sighed again, though this sigh was a sigh that sounded rather exasperated. "Leave the food to me; all you have to do out here is keep yourself safe and sound," he said as he messaged his temples. "But besides that, you seemed to have made friends with Stellar," he added good-humorly.

I blinked. "Stellar?" I repeated.

A smile came onto his handsome face as his rich emerald orbs met my amber ones. "Yep, that she-wolf that was sleeping next to you," he said. "Her name is Stellar,"

"Oh, I see. How old is she?" I asked out of curiosity. "Compared to the other wolves, I'm guessing that she is quite young,"

Athrun nodded. "You guessed right. Stellar is about Shinn's age... that black-coated wolf over there," he said, pointing over to the pack of wolves who nestled together. "They're among the youngest in the group, which might explain why those two are so close,"

"If she was human, then she'd only be a year or two younger than you are," Athrun added.

I nodded as he spoke. As I compared a life of a wolf's to a human's, it was very different. In a regular teenager's life, they'd be going to school, hanging out with friends or worrying about their school grades. But in the life of a wolf, ever since at a young age, each and every wolf is taught to defend themselves from any attackers. Their skills must remain sharp since their survival depends on it. "Another question," I said.

A boy-ish grin came onto Athrun's face. "Another one?" he chuckled softly. "Alright, what is it?"

"Well, I'm just curious, but who is the leader of this pack?" I asked nodded towards the wilderness wolves.

"The leader of a pack is usually the strongest and fiercest one, so naturally, I had thought that Von would be the one, but he isn't," said Athrun as his smile disappeared to be replaced with a frown.

"Then who is?"

A moment of silence... "From what they told me, their leader was kidnapped about a week ago along with several other wolves from the pack, which I suspect to be the doing of the Lab," Athrun explained. "So at the moment, Shinn is the 'acting' leader due to the fact that his grandfather is the leader. However, Von is the strongest among the wolves,"

"Then it was lucky for us that Shinn was able to convince the wolves to become allies with us... since it would be difficult for us to do it alone without the numbers," I commented.

Athrun nodded. "Yes, extremely. Since most of the decisions are made and confirmed by him, the others can't really go against them or else it would mean a rebellion within the pack," he explained. "Though I have to admit that I was surprised that Shinn still trusted someone like me after his grandfather's kidnapping,"

I frowned as I could see what Athrun was thinking. He was a creature of the Lab, though he was no longer part of it. Shinn, who holds high authority over the wilderness wolves must hold a grudge against those from the Lab who kidnapped his grandfather. "When did you meet Shinn? From what you're telling me, this can't be a recent meeting," I said.

A small smile came upon Athrun's lips. "Truthfully, it was a day or so after I had met you. You see, in the beginning, I was troubled about the creature that I am. I wasn't sure who I was able to trust, because the humans that I knew of in the Lab were merciless and cold-blooded. So one time when you were gone, I spent my time outside and saved Shinn, who was barely more than just a pup then, from an attack by a mountain lion," he explained.

I could help but feel a little wounded hearing that Athrun couldn't trust me, but at the same time, I told myself that I would probably feel the same if I had been in his situation. "So you two have kept in contact since then?" I asked.

Athrun nodded. "Yeah.. I snuck out at night quite often and every now and then, I would run into him. Though he is young, he grasps the aspect of things rather quickly. Shinn knew that I wasn't a normal wolf like he was, so I told him the truth not too long after Nicol and the others came. What was most surprising of all was the fact that he accepted me, despite being such a supernatural creature," he added.

My hand twitched at his words as I remembered seeing Athrun in his original form for the first time. I had been so shocked from the turn of events and even my kidnapping that at that moment, I had instinctive slapped his hand away though he was concerned about my well-being. Though it had not crossed my mind after so long, the pain that crossed his face when I rejected him was something that I could never forget in my lifetime. Athrun wasn't like the other wolves who slaughtered my family. He cared for me and was there when no one else was. Athrun would never cause me any harm. But yet... I had done something so unforgivable...

I had been so deep in my thoughts that I had not even realized that Athrun shifted his body to an upright position. "Cagalli?! What's the matter?" Athrun's urgent voice broke my train of thought.

Turning towards the direction of his voice, I could see that he wore an expression of worry and concern. It was then that I realized that I was crying. Embarrassed, I turned my face away to hide my tears, but Athrun had already seen it. I wiped my tears away with my arm. "A-ah, it's nothing," I lied with failure.

A firm hand took the arm that I was using to wipe my eyes and turned my body around. I was looking at Athrun once again. "It isn't nothing! Why are you crying? Are you hurt anywhere?" he asked, his voice full of worry.

I shook my head, avoiding his gaze. "N-no.. I'm not. Like I said, it's nothing," I said.

Releasing my arm, Athrun cupped my face with both hands, forcing me to look at him straight. "Cagalli," he started quietly. "Please tell me what is the matter. I thought we were close enough for you to tell me whatever that is bothering you,"

I sniffed, remaining silent. I knew that Athrun excelled in everything, even speech. Just by a few simple words, he could make one spill the deepest of secrets. Taking a quick glance at his face before adverting my eyes, I started to speak. "Remember that day when Nicol and the others took me as bait?" I asked quietly.

I felt Athrun's hands froze on my face as the memory took an impact from him. "Yes," he spoke.

"When you changed forms in front of me, I admit that I was shocked, but I swear, I had never wanted to reject you that day!" I exclaimed as I gripped his jacket and stared straight into his eyes.

"Everything had happened so quickly and unexpected that my body wasn't truly under my control. Before I had realized what I had done, you were already gone. You don't know how much I had regretted my actions that day! I-i know that somewhere inside of you, there is a part where I know that I won't ever be forgiven, but please know that I don't want you to ever disappear from my life... no matter what you are!"

As I took a breath to continue, my words were cut off as Athrun took me into a deep embrace, similar to the one from last night. "Cagalli... Cagalli," he called my name. "Was that all you were worried about?"

I blinked in surprise, he didn't seem to be angry like I had thought that he would be. "Athrun?" my voice sounded small.

Athrun's strong arms wrapped tightly around my waist, as though he never wanted to let go. "I also admit that I felt as though I wanted to die when I thought that I was no longer wanted by you," he admitted. "But it was too late; I couldn't be separated from you, so I came back to the cabin only to find that you were gone,"

"Though it was inappropriate at the time, did you know how I felt when you called for me? Knowing that I was needed, without any hesitation I came for you," he said quietly. ".. Though it was also my fault that you were taken to such a place,"

I couldn't help but smile a little at his tone of voice on the last part. "But it was also thanks to you that got us out of there," I told him as I felt better.

Athrun shook his head. "Nah, it wasn't just me; it was thanks to you too. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to escape the prisons," he replied back.

"Fine, it was both of us then," I summarized. "But before you get any weird ideas, I'm not usually this weak, alright? I-it was just you caught me at a sentimental moment," I added, embarrassed of my scene just moments before.

Athrun made no reply as he merely chuckled. I was surprised when Athrun released me. "Now that you're feeling better, I as well truthfully, there's a place that I discovered earlier," he told me. "I want to show you,"

"What is it?" I asked, curious of what it could be.

"You'll see... anyway, get onto my back; it's faster than just walking since it's not that close," Athrun said as he turned his back to me.

I hesitated for a moment as I looked at his backside. _Well, it's not the first time Athrun has given you a ride... though the other times were when he was in his wolf form.._ I thought to myself. "Hmm? What's wrong? Aren't you getting on?" Athrun questioned my motives.

"Yeah yeah, just be patient,"

And so, I latched on onto his back as he wrapped his strong arms around my legs to support me, though both of us knew that he wouldn't let me fall all of a sudden. "Alright, hold on.. though I'm not as fast in my human form, I'm still a lot faster than an average person," Athrun warned as I wrapped my arms around his neck and nodded.

We took off into the forest. It was dark... so dark that I was barely able to make the outline of the trees and bushes that surrounded us. It was a little exhilarating traveling in what seemed like darkness, but I trusted Athrun. After all we had been through together, it felt good to know that your most trusted person was able to be beside you through the thick and thin. Though I had never noticed before, Athrun's back was quite wide and muscular, though it wasn't often visible due to the fact that he usually wore jackets. It was warm as well.

Athrun moved very quickly, though he claimed that his speed as a human was no where close to the speed that he gained when in his wolf form. I guess the size and form mattered quite a bit when it came to speed. To avoid my eyes hurting because of the wind pressure going against us, I lowered my head, almost pressing my forehead against his back. "Almost there," I swore I heard him say.

After a handful of minutes, Athrun slowed his pace to a jog before halting completely. I still hung onto him, without realizing that we had already stopped. "Cagalli? It's over," said Athrun as I opened my eyes slowly and blinked.

Indeed we had stopped. Athrun slowly released me as I made my way back towards the ground, surrounded by unfamiliar surroundings. Though I knew we were still somewhere in the forest that was connected to the spot where the wilderness wolves lay, it seemed that we had come a long way. "Where are we?" I questioned as I scanned the darkness around us.

Due to my limited vision, everything seemed pitch black. I could barely make out anything. Though I was extremely curious for why I was brought here. "Hmm.. truthfully, I don't know as well," Athrun replied, amusement evident in his voice.

I spun around to look at Athrun, who blended in well with the dark except for his eyes, which seemed to illuminate. "Like I said earlier, it was by mere coincidence that I stumbled onto this spot, but c'mon, I'll lead the way," he added as a hand grabbed my own.

It was an extremely strange situation where one is led through the dark without any idea what was going on. "Athrun? Where are you taking me?" I asked as I winced at the feel of branches and leaves raking against my skin.

Athrun made no reply to my question and instead released the hold of my arm. Startled, I stopped moving. "Athrun?!" I hissed.

For a moment or two, I was left stranded in the dark without the ability to see in the dark. I could feel the beating of my heart quicken at the fear of being alone, even if for just a second. "Athr-!" I called again but was interrupted as a hand covered my mouth.

"Shh!" came Athrun's voice as he faced me, his eyes visible in the dark.

He took my hand once more and brought me through the bushes. "Look!" he whispered as he yanked my arm towards the front, bring my body with it.

Breaking out of the bushes I was about to question his motives again but I suddenly paused and looked at the front. Countless of lights danced around in front of us, moving in a repetitive order. As silence crept around us, I realized that I could hear the low humming and fluttering of wings as these lights continue to move around. It was a sight to behold. Feeling a pair of eyes scan my face, I looked to my side to find Athrun looking at me. "What do you think? Cool eh?" he whispered excitedly.

I nodded, having my breath taken away at such a scene. "...Amazing,"

"Come, let's sit over on that patch there," Athrun said quietly as he began to move, once again taking hold on my arm.

This time, I followed him without saying anything and sat down next him to watch the performance that was set by the fireflies. Though we were surrounded in complete darkness, the light that the insects were enough to illuminate the space that they filled. We remained in silence as we watched the performance until finally, Athrun broke the silence.

"These past few days have been nothing but action and stress... I wanted you to be at peace, even for a little while," he explained.

When I took his words into thought, Athrun continued on, "You know, no matter what will happen in the battle that's in store for us, I'll make sure that I'll always protect you, even at the cost of my life," he said as his tone told me that he was deadly serious.

I shook my head at his words. "No, you're wrong," I replied, making Athrun look at me with questioning eyes.

"You and I.... we will protect each other,"

In the dim light, I thought I saw a smile on his face. "Yeah, you're right," he replied. "... But, you know... if we do survive in the end..." his voice trailed off.

He had fully caught my attention as I focused on his face. Athrun's eyes faltered slightly as he glanced to his side as though to collect his thoughts for a fraction of a second. When his eyes were once again staring into my own, he took a deep breath. "If we do survive in the end... and save everyone," he said. "...W-would you like to come live with me?"

I stared at him in surprise as a blush filled my cheeks. Was this a proposal? "I-i mean, after I put my past life as a wolf behind me, I could get a job and support us... and our family," Athrun continued, obviously rather flustered by the way he was speaking. "That is... if you want,"

I smiled really widely as I listened to his words. It would be the second time that I would become tearful in that day. "Yeah... I'd like that," I replied as my eyes were brimmed with tears.

I could hear Athrun breathe in relief and brought my face closer to his. Closing my eyes, I left everything else up to pure instinct. Athrun seemed to have felt what I would be doing and so, before I knew it, my lips touched the thing that I was looking for; his lips. I felt his hands brushed back my hair and in turn, I wrapped my arms around him as we shared a passionate, yet blissful kiss. A kiss that sealed our promise to each other. A promise of survival.

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**A/N: Lots of things that I want to say... I know that the romance in here was a little sudden.. (well, to me that is.. -sweatdrop-), but I felt that both Cagalli's and Athrun's feelings became mutual for each other through to the fact that they're so close and have been through so much... so I hope that this chapter wasn't out of place? I decided to give those two a little period of peace before heading back into the action and all... they really deserve it, lol!**

**Anyway, I would like to take a moment to thank EVERYONE who has reviewed since the beginning of my story!! You guys ROCK! (in no particular order):**

YukiismySunshine, Usako Hoshino, PinkPrincess511, Devils Anarchist, trulyanimelover06, Prince-in-Disguise, AsuCaga01, cagallirockz, taylaacheer7, cara410, .Heiress (I have NO idea why, but it WILL NOT let me save your full username.... X_X Really sorry!), Mage666, cagalliyulathha, HorseMagic17, Hitsugi's Lover, MyLiFeIsMuSiC, Stelmaria, Courting Torment, Lems, midnight blue08, evilace, Arisato Aigis, kwisy, w414hos, FiEsty CaTz, AthrunCagallimadness, Zedhyrx, .CriMsonxLadY., WolfHybrid, athazala, kazuko soranai, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, Wolfy Pup, Smile for Life

**And my anonymous people!:**

Littlelink048 , CriTicAl, Kit kat , cagalli rocks! , cagalli rockz , Kia , Jillisa Cutler , hyperchica

**Now... I really REALLY hope I didn't forget anyone... (I checked this over a few times...) but if I did, please please drop me a PM telling me so. Oh also, I've made a blog in which I'll also be posting my fics on there... though slightly earlier than I'll do so here, so if you have time, please check out my blog (which can be found as my website in my profile) and leave a message. Thanks so much for reading!!!  
**


	11. Monster

**A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks so much for your reviews on my last chapter! Glad to see that I still have readers lol. Due to the fact that it's been more than a year since this fic was published, I think I should really start picking up the pace with my updates. So, I've decided to set a deadline for myself. It'll be on the 15th and 30th of every month where a new chapter _should_ be out (hopefully, I can keep this up). That way, it won't take another year to finish it. Anyway, hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny!**

**NOTE: First part is in Athrun's POV and the second half is in Cagalli's.  
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Chapter 11: Monster**

Deep within the woods miles and miles away from the nearest city, two wolves could be found lying underneath the shade of the trees with their sides heaving as they took in air. _"Hey, Shinn,"_ I called out as I turned to face him. _"You've improved quite a bit from the first time we fought,"_

Shinn's red eyes widened with excitement. _"You mean it?"_ he asked.

I nodded. _"Of course. Though, it would be better to avoid giving your moves away,"_ I replied as I tucked my body into a more comfortable position.

A wolfish grin appeared on the younger boy's face as he took in the compliment. A small laugh escaped his throat. _"I know... but like you said, I'm doing better. I have to be, after all that practice you're putting us through,"_ he commented.

"_Well obviously, if you try to take on the Lab with the way you guys are now, sadly to say, you wouldn't stand much of a chance,"_

Shinn's smile faded as he took in my words. _"Exactly how strong are they?"_ he asked as any trace of good humor disappeared with his smile.

I shrugged. _"Well, their levels depend on the type of beings they are. I, for one, am a direwolf, the strongest-" _I cut my sentence off as I realized that it was no longer true; I wasn't the strongest anymore.

"_Why didn't you finish your sentence?"_

The sides of my mouth turned into a frown as I looked at him, who looked rather confused. _"I was the strongest.. but that doesn't apply any longer,"_ I said quietly as my eyes narrowed, thinking of the dark figure that made my blood run cold. _"There's another who is stronger than I am,"_

Shinn leapt up from his position at my words. _"'Stronger than you?' What do you mean?"_ he demanded as the look of alert was displayed on his face.

"_Exactly what I mean. The Lab has genetically-altered another human's DNA to be infused with that of a wolf," _I explained quickly. _"They named him a 'werewolf' which is supposedly a class even higher than that of the direwolf, meaning that he is strongest in the facility,"_

"_Then... have you witnessed his strength?"_

My eyes narrowed as I recalled fighting him only a few days ago. I was seriously outclassed by him, though I had been a wolf for my entire life while he couldn't have been one for long. I nodded my head. _"Yes, I've fought him recently... and through sheer luck, we were able to escape; Cagalli and I,"_ I growled.

Shinn slumped back down as he placed his head on top of his paws. His ears were flat against his head as though a dog had been scolded by its master. _"If you could not defeat him, then it would be nearly impossible for us," _he said.

"_Though he is strong, I don't think it is impossible to defeat him. No being in this world is so godly that he can't be defeated," _I told him. _"I am training you and your pack so that you would be able to fight better on even ground against the Lab due to the experience that you would have gotten from fighting me,"_

"_And this 'werewolf'?"_

"_Leave him to me,"_

The two of us remained in silence as we thought about the battle that could happen any day. These wolves _are_ improving, but not as fast as I had hoped. Especially the less eager ones like the wolf named Rey. I could feel his distrust from the aura he gave off. However, he fought and practiced like the others for the well-being of their pack, not because he wanted someone like me to teach him. He was quite strong, which was surprising due to his slim figure, but not strong enough to take on a _noble_ from the lab.

Earlier, when I had asked about the pack and its variety of wolves, I had learned that this pack did not have many blood relations to each other. They picked up stray wolves who had no pack of their own or those who had been left behind and injured. The wolf to do so was the leader of the pack, in other words, Shinn's grandfather. He saved them from death and gave them a spot in his pack, which grew bigger and bigger as time passed. From the way the others spoke of him, he was greatly respected amongst wolves.

Each wolf in this pack had suffered. Some had lost their parents, some had lost their children. With Shinn, I learned that he was taken under the leader's wing as his own when he was found abandoned. When the leader searched for them, their bodies were found ripped apart by stronger creatures that dwelled in the forest. His parents had hid him away, in hopes of diverting the creature, putting their lives at risk. Shinn was barely more than a newborn pup.

"_Athrun?"_

I blinked at the call of my name as I turned to see Shinn. The expression that he wore on his face was different from the one earlier. He looked rather dazed. _"What is it?"_ I asked, wondering what he was thinking.

Shinn seemed rather hesitant as his tail twitched nervously. _"What do you think of Stellar?"_ he asked as his gaze fell on the wolf that laid next to Cagalli.

The two had quickly became friends, despite being unable to verbally converse with each other. But they seemed to understand each others' words through their actions. Stellar was also an orphan, like Shinn. She was found heavily injured after a fight with a large wild cat. Stellar had accidentally entered its territory and lost due to the difference in strength. However, instead of giving her the final blow, the cat had decided to let her suffer in pain until her death. It was then, where Shinn, who had a habit of strolling in the evening, had found her and taken her in.

I didn't know a lot about the she-wolf other than the fact that she doesn't speak a lot other anyone other than Shinn. But I guess that was expected because not only was he her savior, but he was also the same age as she was. I could see from the way her eyes shone that she carried no trace of evil and was a very innocent wolf. _"I don't know her very well, but I think she seems like a very kind and innocent sort of wolf," _I replied, not sure whether this was what he had been looking for as an answer.

Shinn nodded his head, his ears bobbing up and down as he agreed. _"Yeah.. she is," _he replied.

He put his head down on his paws. _"I know this isn't the best time to be thinking about it, considering that there's a large battle up ahead, but I think I would like to ask her whether she would like to be my mate," _he said quietly, his tone nervous.

I smiled, recalling the evening last night where I, myself had proposed to Cagalli. When she had agreed, I felt so delighted that my worries of the upcoming battle were forgotten in an instant. What mattered to me at that moment was that my most important person in this world had agreed to be with me forever. _"I think you should go for it. You have nothing to lose,"_ I advised as a blush could be seen from the wolf if he was a human teenager.

"_You're right. I'll ask her when the time is right," _Shinn replied. _"Thanks,"_

"_Don't mention it,"_

_

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_

It has been a few days since we first came to this spot. Athrun has been training the wolves non-stop, due to fear of being unready. There wasn't much that I could do to help them, because I'd only be a burden to their practices. So, for the past few days, I've been taking it upon myself to get my own training down. Before all of this came into my life, I had worked part-time at the gym and even before that, my parents had paid for my self-defense lessons. I frowned as I lowered my leg that was suspended in the air for a round-house kick.

_Before all of this came into my life..._ It really did seem as though it was from another lifetime. Being in the student council, doing homework everyday and hanging with friends... it was a really distant memory. Would I be able to ever go back to that type of lifestyle? I wasn't so sure. It was a slim chance that we would even make it out alive. My mind and my heart were often at odds, one telling me that all of this had nothing to do with me and that I should return to being 'normal' while the other scoffed at the idea of running away cowardly. Even if Athrun and I turned our backs to everything that was happening now, it would only catch up with us sooner or later in the future. And by then, maybe more lives would have been lost.

I gritted my teeth as I wondered if my practices would be of any use in the upcoming battle. I knew from previous experience that I didn't stand much of a chance against regular wolves, much less the wolves that were genetically-modified. But being a captive in the lab, I knew no matter how strong the wolves were, it was the humans who ruled the place. I shivered at the memory of a sleek black weapon firing at us while we ran for our lives. I couldn't slow Athrun or the others down anymore; I had to do my part as well. The people in the lab were human, like me. At the very least, I could take them on.

As I thought about the upcoming battle, I felt a wet, warm object brush against the palm of my hand and looked down. It was Stellar. She brushed her head forwards as she whined for me to scratch the spot behind her ears. Smiling, I paused my training and did so, feeling the softness of her fur beneath my fingers. Then I brought my hand to the top of her head and stroked her, brushing past her ears. Stellar sighed happily as she tilted her head upwards, licking my hand with her rough tongue, tasting the saltiness of the sweat that escaped me.

I bent down, so that I was level with Stellar and gave her a hug. "Stellar, are you feeling nervous for the battle?" I asked quietly as Stellar panted softly in my arms.

"I'm rather worried," I admitted. "I know that I should have confidence in Athrun, but I can't help but to feel scared,"

"This will be my first fight where lives will be at stake... I don't want any more beings to die,"

I felt Stellar move in my arms as a wet object licked my face. Stellar whined as I looked into her crystal-like eyes. As I studied her eyes, it seemed as though she was telling me that she was also worried; anyone with the right state of mind would be. But thinking about it ceaselessly wasn't going to bring us a victory. I gave her a small smile as I stroked her soft head again. Though there was a language barrier between us, I couldn't help but feel slightly more at ease than I had been earlier. I got back onto my feet. "Alright, enough moping around. I don't know about you, but I'm rather hungry. Hopefully, the guys will be back soon with the food. Let's go find the others that are here," I said as I directed Stellar down the slope.

While Athrun and the other went to hunt, their mates and elderly remained behind to keep an eye on the younger ones and their resting site. Stellar's friends came up to greet us as they yipped for her to join them. Sighing, I sat down next to the wolves who were sun-bathing as we waited for the others to return. Leaning back, I glanced up towards the sky and noticed that it was rather grey and cloudy, as though a strong wind was coming our way. A low growl could be heard as I scrunched my eyebrows, wondering if thunder was also coming, when I realized a moment later that the growling wasn't the thunder, but from the wolves beside me.

In alert, I got to my feet as the wolves became more and more restless. Could it be Athrun and the others returning? No... they wouldn't become like this... Is something approaching? Just when the thoughts appeared in my mind, a flash of moment could be seen as several figures soared above our heads and landed behind us. Whipping my head around, I glanced in shock as two large wolves reared their heads and looked our way. The one in the center was an un-naturally large wolf that had a chocolate brown color fur coat.

I held my breath at the sight of these wolves; they were the ones that came from the Lab. The lighter coated wolf was one that I would never forget; Nicol, who was the one who had taken me prisoner not so long ago. The second wolf rather unfamiliar and the last, I couldn't take my eyes off him. His violet eyes were full of anger and hatred as he bared his teeth toward us, showing off his long canine fangs. His claws dug deep into the ground bearing the weight that the immense body held.

I could feel the wilderness wolves' uneasiness as they ignored the urge to shrink back at such a creature. Even I, who was human could feel the fear in the atmosphere around us. My heart began racing as I remembered the events that happened just a few days ago, when Athrun and I had barely escaped the Lab. We had encountered Kira, who held the form of a monstrous beast whose anger and lust for blood bore a heavy weight upon us. It was the exact same wolf that was in front of us now.... _It is my brother._

At a sharp bark from Kira, the other two wolves lunged for their attack, facing off against the wilderness wolves. Jaws snapped against each other viciously as the wilderness wolves fought for their lives. Though we outnumbered them, it was obvious who the victor of this battle would be. However, as the battle went on, I noticed that only two of the Lab's wolves were fighting. As I scanned the area around me to find Kira, Stellar's growling from behind me took my attention. Spinning around, my breath was caught as I saw Kira's wolf stand before me, saliva dripping from his mouth as he watched us hungrily.

"K-kira..." My voice was drowned out by Stellar's growling as he approached, slowly placing one paw in front of the other, crushing the earth as he made he way toward us.

When he was close enough to strike, Stellar lunged at him, jaws snapping in his face. I watched with horror as Kira counter-attacked by sidestepping her and clamping his jaws into her neck before throwing her over his shoulder. Stellar's body was thrown against the side of the cave as Kira made his way towards her once again. "Kira! Stop this! Don't hurt her!" I screamed.

Kira ignored my words as though they were never said. As Stellar was struggling to get back onto her feet, Kira forcefully slammed his paw down onto her neck, forcing her back down to the ground. A high-pitch gasp of pain ringed in my ears as I saw Kira gradually apply more and more force. He was going to kill her. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed a fallen branch that laid beside me and charged at him, throwing the fact that he was once my brother to the wind.

Kira paused as his ears perked at the sound of my heavy footsteps. Within a relatively close distance, I threw the branch at Kira, hoping that it would distract him. The impact that I was waiting for never came as he spun around, whipping his tail like a bat as it connected with the branch and flung it to the side. The branch slammed heavily against the trunk of the tree and created a huge dent in the bark.

My breathing grew faster and faster with every passing moment as I had fully caught Kira's attention now. "K-kira!" I called out as he progressed towards me. "It's me, Cagalli!"

Kira's eyes showed nothing but anger as he continued to move forward. My name... it had no importance on him. He had no recollection of who I was... of who _he_ was. The cries of pain around me were drowned out by the thumping of my heart as I realized that Kira had me backed against the wall of the cave. Going onto his hind legs, my eyes watched as he raised his paw, claws aimed towards me. Leaping to the side, I felt an icy feeling flow through my body followed by warmth and pain as his claws had gotten my left arm.

Crying out, I landed against the forest floor, withering in pain. I brought my right hand out from under me. My hands were bathed in a pool of blood that flowed from the wound that he gave me. Kira went back down on all fours as he glanced at me once more. My breath was caught in my throat as I backed away, using my right arm to do so, because my legs would not do as they were told. I was going to die... die by Kira's hands...

Kira roared, causing the whole forest to echo behind him. As he made the motion to strike, another figure roared, slamming into him at the side, throwing Kira a few meters away. I watched as a dark-coated wolf took the place where Kira was moments before. _Athrun..._

Athrun bared his teeth as Kira snapped his jaws at him. The two faced off, lunging towards each other, jaws snapping in each other's faces. An exchange of swipes could be seen as they fought. Kira's snout made it's way to Athrun's tail and he clamped his jaws onto it tightly. Athrun roared in pain as he struggled to get out of his grasp. Finally, he kicked out his rear legs, one connecting with Kira's stomach, causing him to let go, while he gasped.

The two panted heavily as they glared at each other, several meters apart. Suddenly, a loud bark could be heard as another figure made their way to the scene. I recognized the wolf to be Nicol. The bracelet that hung on his leg was glowing as several colors flashed. He began to bark at Kira who said nothing in reply. Seeing that he wasn't paying attention to him, Nicol stepped in front of him and snarled in his voice. Kira's eyes narrowed as anger flowed through them once more. Without hesitation, Kira flew at Nicol, his jaws clamping down onto Nicol's leg, where the bracelet lay.

Nicol, who was thrown off guard, howled in pain and he struggled against Kira's strong hold. Blood gushed out of the wound as Kira's teeth sunk in. Finally, deciding that he had enough, Kira tossed Nicol as easily as he had done with Stellar. Nicol's body fell towards the floor as the bracelet broke into two, the pieces laying on the floor beside him. Kira darted quickly, as our attention was diverted to Nicol's figure. Kira took Stellar by the scruff of her neck like a puppy and fled, followed by the other wolf.

When the rest of the pack arrived, the scene before them made each and everyone speechless. Before they had left, the area was a very quiet and peaceful place, where the slightest movements were caused by small insects and animals, but now, the place was bathed in blood. Our side had suffered many casualties; many injured and two dead. Not to mention, we had also lost Stellar to the Lab, though for what reason they wanted another hostage, I did not know. As we tended to each others' wounds, I couldn't help but see the anger and disappointment in Athrun's eyes. Clearly, he had hoped for better results than the first time he had fought Kira.

"I'm sorry," he said bitterly as he wrapped my injured arm in scraps of his jacket, which he tore to make bandages for everyone. "I couldn't prevent you from being wounded,"

I tried to give him a small smile as I ignored the pain that shot up my arm as his fingers brushed over my wound. "I-it's not your fault, it could have happened to anyone," I replied. "Even you're injured," I nodded towards his chest and arms, where blood was dripping down.

Athrun shook his head. "No, I will be able to heal quickly, due to my modified genes, but for you, it'll be much longer until that wound heals," he said.

"When Stellar fought against Kira... I felt my body freeze up at the sight of him. Kira... he hated violence and was always such a peaceful person. He would never hurt anyone on purpose... but now, Stellar could have died at his hands, if I hadn't moved,"

"But she didn't, right? Though she is heavily injured, the point is that she is still living. It was thanks to you that she didn't die in this battle," Athrun reassured me.

I shook my head. "No.... if only I had acted sooner, accepting the fact that my brother is gone, could I have prevented her from being wounded so gravely," The image of me standing there watching helplessly as Stellar was being pummeled to death did not disappear from my mind.

Athrun brought his hand up to my hair as he stroked it gently. "You wanted to believe that he was still Kira, I can't blame you for that. It must have been difficult, going against your own family," he said quietly.

I made no comment to that as I scanned the area around us, seeing wolves licking their wounds and trying to ease the atmosphere around us, despite the losses. However, separated from the other wolves, I noticed one dark-coated wolf walk away slowly, his tail hung low. He had gone with Athrun and the others to search for food, but came back to see the disaster that took place. I glanced sideways towards the ground as I tucked my knees in. "Some are in greater pain aren't they?" I asked as I brought my eyes back towards the retreating figure.

Athrun matched my gaze as I saw his eyes fill with sympathy and understanding. "Shinn wanted Stellar to be his mate," he said quietly. "He probably feels it the most out of all of us, since he doesn't know what they will do to her,"

"Not all wolves can survive their experimentation. Only the strong-willed do and I'm not sure whether Stellar will be able to pull through," Athrun continued as Shinn's figure disappeared from our view.

_In the distance, a lonely howl could be heard as it echoed through the forest, with pain and sorrow mixed in the sound._

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**A/N: Man, I'm so mean to Shinn! First his grandfather and now Stellar as well... -guilty- Hopefully things will turn alright for him. By the way, I've been obsessing myself with this series called the Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong. Coincidentally, her series also has a character who is a _genetically modified werewolf_ who _escaped from his laboratory_. Ring a bell, anyone? I didn't realize at first, but man... some similarities here LOL. The character is somewhat like Athrun in the beginning but I guess the similarities end there. Her first book was published in July 2008, while my fanfic was released in May 2008, so my fanfiction was not loosely based off her stories, if anyone had been wondering. (But it is a REALLY really awesome series, especially if you're in love with wolves/werewolves, like me!) Anyway, hope you look forward to my next update!**


	12. Nicol

**A/N: Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Thanks so much for the reviews that you've given to me! It really helped me to keep my deadline. These past days have been WAY TOO hot, which made it difficult to sit in a boiling room (with a sucky fan) and type lol. Anyway, I apologize for such a short chapter compared to the others, but there wasn't too much that I wanted to expose as of yet, so that'll have to wait until the later chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny!  
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**Chapter 12: Nicol**

A burial was made shortly after the battle as we wished away the ones that have fallen. The wolves gathered together as they mourned for the two wolves that were loved and lost. One was an elderly male wolf while the other was a young mother, whose cubs were now orphans. The atmosphere was filled with grief and anger as the wolves were determined to avenge their fallen members. Shinn had come back from his despair of losing Stellar to the Lab. His eyes no longer shone of the happy innocence that had once filled them. Instead, they were bitter and bent on revenge. "_Athrun_," he growled. "_We need to take revenge against the creatures of the Lab, who've hurt and stolen so many of us_,"

There was a howl of chorus as the wolves chimed in, agreeing with their leader. "_We have to work harder and become stronger to protect everyone dear to us and also free the ones that were taken captive. But to do that, we must train until our strength is nearly depleted. Then, we will have a chance to deliver justice upon our foes_," Shinn declared.

"_Yes! Bring down the unnatural and save our kin!_" Tristan, one of the male wolves cried out and another chorus of agreement was heard.

Shinn nodded his head. "_Tonight, rest up and tend to the injured, for tomorrow, we will not rest until the vile creatures are defeated!_," he said before dismissing them.

As I went inside the cave, I saw Cagalli on the cave floor, bandaging the wounded wolves with scraps of my abandoned jacket. Approaching her, I brushed my hand on her shoulder as she looked up at me. "How are things going on here?" I asked as I nodded to the wolves who were licking each others' wounds.

Cagalli frowned slightly. "I guess that we should be grateful that the injuries are nothing major, but they will take some time to heal, and I'm not sure how much time we'll have before we face off against the Lab," she admitted.

"I see. There's nothing we can do to speed the process of healing. Only thing now is to prevent others from being injured,"

I brushed my hand through the soft fur of a young she-wolf who was injured in the battle. I could tell that she was hurting, but I tried to soothe her as Cagalli brought up her injured paw and bandaged it. As she did so, I noticed a hiss of pain escape her mouth as she moved her injured arm. Touching her gently on her shoulder, I stopped her. "Here, let me go it; my wounds aren't as bad," I said as I held the abandoned strip of fabric.

Sighing, Cagalli and I switched roles as she comforted the she-wolf while I bandaged her. When I finished, Cagalli broke the silence. "Athrun?"

I looked at Cagalli who called my name. "What about _him_?" she asked looking past me.

I turned my head to see Nicol's still unconscious form lying on the cave floor. I frowned as I inspected his wounds. His arms were bleeding heavily where Kira had bit him. Perhaps they were even broken. As I studied his wounds, I realized that I was forgetting something. Turning my head back to Cagalli, I called out, "What happened to Nicol's bracelet?"

"I placed them in my pocket to study them later,"

"Can I see them?"

Reaching out, Cagalli placed the two broken fragments into my outstretched hand. It was a cool metal bracelet that had a piece of glass down the middle. As I recalled Nicol wearing it earlier, it had flashed colors of red and green, but that was gone now. "Why do you think Nicol and Kira came today?" I heard Cagalli ask.

"I don't know; there could be many reasons," I flipped the bracelet over onto the other side, but found nothing that would indicate its meaning. "Perhaps, we can ask Nicol when he wakes,"

"_Ask_ Nicol?" Cagalli asked, clearly surprised. "Won't he try and kill us all when he regains his consciousness?"

I turned towards her. "He would probably attempt it," I agreed. "However, he seems to be badly injured, so I highly doubt that he would want to be moving much. You see, only direwolves, such as I, or any higher-level creatures have the ability to heal under the moonlight. Nicol doesn't have that ability,"

Cagalli said nothing to that as she absent-mindedly stroked Basil, a young male wolf, who fell asleep on her side. "Do you think he'll tell us anything?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"It's possible. Sure, he hates me, but I'm sure that he's not particularly fond of the lab either, due to all the experimentation on the subjects. Who knows, maybe he'll turn back into his old self,"

"His old self?"

I nodded. "Nicol wasn't always like this; he was a kind-hearted boy. Though he was stronger than the average wolf, he was still the weakest compared to the other Nobles," I told her. "Nicol and I, we grew up together as close cell mates along with the others that you've met. When we grew older and stronger, the humans separated us into individual cells,"

"We would only be allowed to see each other during experimentations and fights, where the humans would study our abilities as we fought each other. Though Nicol was forced to, he loathed violence and would never attack, only defend. But I guess everything changed after I escaped the Lab,"

After I finished summarizing the Nicol's characteristics, Cagalli suppressed a yawn as her eyes moistened from doing so. "You should get some sleep; you've been through a long day," I told her. "I'll be staying awake to keep watch,"

Cagalli nodded as she shifted towards the wall, so that her back would be leaning against the cave wall and closed her eyes. I could tell that she was fast asleep due to her heavy, rhythmic breathing, which I was familiar with. Getting back onto my feet, I exited through the mouth of the cave. Bending down, I sprung up like a spring and did a back flip into the air. I landed on my feet carefully, but stumbled as I felt pain going up my spine as I did so. Shaking off the pain, I looked upwards towards the night sky, which was partly cloudy. Only a small amount of moonlight could be seen, but I guess that would have to do for now.

Stripping off my top with great difficulty with one uninjured arm, I felt my wounds close as the walls of flesh began to piece themselves together. However, before the wounds were a third of the way closed, the regeneration halted due to the limited amount of moonlight that was shone. I sighed. It seemed that I would need a few more days before my wounds would completely heal. At the very least, I would be at full strength by the next full moon. Sitting down, the pain in my tail bone where Kira has bit down was gone. Anything that was probably fractured had mended itself during my healing process.

As the silence and darkness wrapped around me, I was left to do some recollecting of earlier events. When Kira and I had been fighting, Nicol had interrupted our match. "_Hades! Chairman is calling us back; we've been gone for too long,"_ he had said.

When Kira looked as though he was about to ignore him and continue with the fight, Nicol snapped at him, "_If we don't get back now, even you will be punished, stupid!"_ and with that Kira lashed out at him, ignoring the fact that they were comrades.

I frowned at the thought of Kira attacking anyone and everyone. Judging by the today's earlier results, it seemed that he was willing to hurt anyone who got in his way, regardless of whether they were friend or foe... No, in this case, everyone would be his enemy. His anger never seemed to cool down, but what was it that made him so angry? I sighed as more and more questions popped in my mind.

Jumping down from the top of the cave, I was once again at the mouth of the cave where I had left Cagalli. As I entered, I suddenly halted when I realized that another was also awake. His amber eyes studied me as I began moving back inside. It was Nicol, only that he had reverted back to his original form. "Why am I still alive?" he growled deeply.

I raised an eyebrow. "Do you prefer not to be?" I asked in return.

His eyes narrowed. "Being in this state, it's rather obvious that I'm no match for even you now," he spat, eyes full of disgust. "You could finish me off at any moment,"

As I opened my mouth to answer, Nicol answered his own question. "Ah I see. You wanted to keep me around to answer your questions. So, playing the interrogator, huh?" Nicol said as he read my mind.

I ignored him. "You can keep reading my mind for all you want, but realize that having a one-man conversation isn't very entertaining. So either you answer my questions or shut up and let me have some peace," I told him.

"And why should I tell you what I know?"

"Because you hate living at the lab,"

Nicol paused as his eyes turned to slits at my words. "What's it to you whether I like living there or not?" he questioned.

"I don't understand why anyone would enjoy being in that sort of place while being electrocuted or having dozens of wires being inserted into you," I retorted. "I believe that you aren't in that category,"

When Nicol didn't reply, I decided to be reasonable. "Regardless of whether you decide to be of some help or not, our plan of taking down the Lab will still continue to take progress. If we had some information on the lab, things will go a lot faster," I told him.

Nicol raised an eyebrow. "_Take_ down the lab, eh? Well, either you are courageous or foolish. The chance of you getting out alive-"

"I know the chance of surviving is slim," I cut in. "But it has to be done. If I can bring it all down, set everyone free, but die in the process, all is not lost,"

A sigh of exasperation echoed throughout the cave. "Once again playing the hero of justice. That aspect of you never really changed," Nicol said.

I shook my head at his words. "If the lab goes down, then I will also have my long-awaited freedom. And you as well," I told him.

When Nicol said nothing, I could tell that he was thinking my words over. It was not a lie; he _really_ did want to be free. When we were just kids, when everyone else was fast asleep, Nicol, who laid next to me would often talk about his dreams and what he wanted the future to be like for him. He wanted to be free to roam around, whether to be chasing after deer in the forests or making friends and living among humans. If he was no longer used as an experiment, he would be satisfied. Even now, when he had changed dramatically, I knew that he wasn't the type to give up on his dreams.

"So, will you answer a few of my questions? Why were you and the others come here today?" I asked, studying Nicol carefully. "And how did you find us?"

He made no sign of surprise at my question. Nicol stared off into space and remained silent for so long that I had thought that he was not going to reply. "Like I told you not too long ago, after you left, everyone went through a gradual change, to become stronger. As you are already well aware, not every subject is a successful one. So, many of the subjects died in the process, decreasing rapidly in numbers. The Chairman wasn't interested in figuring why they couldn't survive, but was intent on getting better specimens for his experiments. The weak that cannot survive is not needed," he said bitterly.

"So, he sent you out to gather more specimens?" I asked, a growl rising in my throat.

Nicol simply nodded. "Humans and wolves alike. As for how we found you guys, that would be thanks to Hades' enhanced senses. At around 50 km away, he picked up the scent of a pack of wolves and steered us towards this direction. Though I was rather surprised when I saw her-" his glance dropped on Cagalli's sleeping figure. "-here among the wolves and your scent all over the place,"

As he gave me his brief explanation, I couldn't help but catch some hatred in his voice as he spoke about Hades. Did they not get along? They were teammates... "Just because we are on the _same_ side does not mean we are all buddy buddy with each other," Nicol snarled as he picked up what I was thinking. "In fact, I would like nothing better than to skin his hide and use it as my wall decorator,"

"That guy... he is superior to all of us in Lab, in everything; strength, agility, senses, regeneration and intelligence. He has the humans all excited about his existence and even the chairman is wrapped around his finger. Yet, he lives as though he is an angered zombie who cannot rest in peace; no emotions but anger, icy both in his heart and his eyes," Nicol growled. "He has everything that one could wish for, but what is he unsatisfied with?"

From what I had known about Kira was the fact that he was a happy, benevolent boy, who loved his sister very much. But now, all trace of happiness was sucked away when Kira was turned into Hades. Was it possible that he was angry for the fact that he was turned against his will? Or was it because any trace of his freedom had been locked away when he was captured? I frowned. There were so many reasons why the Lab had to go down, but even now, I was a little doubtful on whether I'd be able to pull it off. "Damn that guy, I want to get even with him for attacking me," Nicol added angrily.

"Oh, right. You're injured," I said, remembering that fact. "Let's take a look at your wounds,"

I took a handful of jacket strips and brought them over to Nicol, who was trying to get into a sitting position, but with difficulty. With one hand, I lifted his shoulder and pushed against it until he was off the ground, ignoring his glare. As I reached out to hold Nicol's injured arm, Nicol shrank back and slapped my hand away. "I can do it myself!" he snapped as he snatched the bandages from my open hand.

I took a step back, a little surprised but then hid a small smile. Though he tried to look mature and cool, he was still very much of a kid on the inside. I watched him as he clumsily bandaged his injured arm with the other arm. In the end, it was messily bandaged, but it was bandaged at the very least. Reaching into my pant pockets I took out Nicol's bracelet fragments. "By the way, what are these? You never had them before I left," I said as I held out my palm to show him.

Nicol scowled darkly as he eyed the broken pieces with distaste. He turned his head to the side, avoiding my glance. "That was my power gauge," he said quietly.

"What does it do, exactly?" I raised my eyebrow in curiosity.

"They temporarily increase the strength and power of the person who wears it. The humans at the lab can monitor our battles and abilities that way. These things also tell us when we are to go back when the energy is too low or when we are called back by the humans," Nicol explained. "But as you can see, it won't work now,"

"Now, since I've told you what you wanted to know, it's my turn to ask the questions," he said, meeting my glaze. "What do you plan to do with me?"

Truthfully, I didn't know what to answer to that question. I had wanted him to join our side to take down the Lab, since it would be beneficial for both of us, but whether he wanted to go against the ones that he had grown up with was another question. It is true that he wanted to be free more than anything, but I couldn't force him to make that decision now.

"We will not tie you up or torture you. Instead, you will be free to walk wherever, but I warn you now; go back to the Lab and I will not hesitate to take you down along with the others,"

* * *

**A/N: So basically, Nicol isn't really a prisoner; he's free to go wherever (says Athrun), but if he does goes back, Athrun will kill him, despite being really close to him. Some things to clear up from the last and this chapter:**

**1) Kira bit and hurt Nicol: Nicol was telling Kira that they had to return, but in Hades' nature, he is a little like a rogue wolf who takes orders from no one with the exception of Chairman Patrick. So, without much hesitation on his part, Kira turned against Nicol.**

**2) Athrun thinks Nicol is relunctant to go against his fellow cell mates at the Lab when he was thinking of getting him to join them: The reason why Nicol wasn't hesitant on attacking Athrun in the earlier chapters was because he was thought that Athrun had abandoned him. Athrun and Nicol had grown together like blood-brothers and were closer to each other than they were to any other of the subjects. When Athrun fled, it was very likely that he would be caught and be killed for his actions, which is a reason why he didn't want to bring Nicol as well. Instead, after his escapade, Athrun had planned on going back to take down the lab. But Nicol didn't know that, which is why he holds a bit of a grudge against him.**

**Sounds kind of complicated and all... but that's how the plot goes. Many of you had questioned on Lacus and whether she will take a role in this fanfic and the answer is Yes. Though I had not planned for her in the beginning, I decided that she would have a good reason to be here. You'll find that out in a chapter or two. Anyway, please look forward to the next chapter... (it _should _be better written than this chapter)  
**


	13. Annoyances

**A/N: Hello everyone! Sorry for the late posting; I had been out for the whole day... so tired! But hey, it's still the 15th over here, so I guess I made my deadline haha. Since I felt bad for the short chapter last time, I made this one a bit longer (which is my usual length for chapters). This chapter introduces a new character, which everyone had been wondering about. First part of the chapter is in Cagalli's POV and the second part is in a third-person point of view. Anyway, hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny  
**

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Chapter 13: Annoyances**

Dipping my legs into cool clear water, I felt my mind being refreshed. Earlier, Athrun had spoken to the wolves about Nicol and the subject of letting him stay with us. Even without an explanation, it was rather obvious that Nicol was _not_ wanted anywhere near the wolves. Though he had not killed any of the wild wolves, he had severely injured many and they felt anger and uneasiness towards him. However, Athrun had also explained that having Nicol with us could prove to be advantageous for us, since he knew much more about the lab than Athrun did, especially after Athrun's escapade.

Though many were not convinced that someone such as Nicol could help them in any way, they allowed him to stay due to Athrun's request. However, it was stated that Nicol was not part of their pack in anyway nor could he share their food. If he slowed them down, he would be left behind. If he was found attacking one of their members, he would be killed without question. Not that he could attack anyone, considering the fact that his injuries were just as severe as some he had given. Athrun suspected that he had several fractures and broken bones, preventing Nicol from walking, not to mention standing up.

I swung my legs in the water, pushing the water to move back and forth with the movement of my legs. Truthfully, I was also rather wary of Nicol. Not so long ago, he had tricked me and led me into a trap before kidnapping me. Not only had he hurt me on several occasions, but he had also given orders for Athrun to be nearly-killed. But despite that, Athrun had asked me to look after his well-being while he was off sparring against the wolves. I had wanted to tell him that I felt rather uncomfortable with Nicol, but seeing that Athrun already had so much to do, and I so little, reluctantly, I agreed to his request.

At the moment, I was supposed to be gathering what bits of food I could find for myself and Nicol, but for now, let's just say that I wasn't all that eager to be going back so soon. Last time I left him, he muttered something about getting some shut-eye while I went out. His wounds were caused by my brother. As much as I wanted to think that Nicol deserved it, I couldn't. Even if he did evil things to Athrun, I and the wolves, it was all because he was ordered to, resulting in twisting his personality.

Athrun had told me the consequences they face if an order is disobeyed. They wouldn't be so merciful as to give you a quick and painless death, but instead they would cause more and more harm to you, mentally and physically until you felt as though death was a welcoming door. Every creature at the lab had faced this torture at least once and for the majority, it was all they needed to understand what was in store for them.

But another fact that my mind kept thinking about; Kira, my enemy. He didn't recognize who I was. In that fraction of a second, if I had not moved out of the way, I could have been very well dead. Though I knew he changed, against his will, I did not think that he would attack me. I had hoped for something inside of him that snap him out of it and return him back to the way he used to be. But things weren't as simple as I wished. Everyone was out for revenge, they all wanted his death. As for Athrun and I, we both simply want to stop him and return him to normal. But was it possible to do that without killing him?

I knew from Athrun that the supernatural wolves were originally human, whose cells and DNA were modified and added with that of a wolf. Could it be undone? Was it even possible? I sighed as I scooped the water with my cupped hands and splashed it against my face. The coldness of the water temporarily brought me to my senses. I had to remain strong; I definitely cannot break down at a time like this. As for Kira, we will decide on our actions when the time calls for it. Pulling my legs in, I pushed myself up with the help of my uninjured arm. That was enough moping for today; I had an objective to complete before I headed back. Hiking along the trail that I had taken for the past few days, a satisfied expression filled my face as I was soon greeted by the smell of wild black berries whose bushes were common to see.

They weren't a hundred percent ripe, but they would have to do. Making my way deeper into the bushes, I winced as the thorns pricked my arms, but shook the pain off. I picked numerous blackberries, enough for a snack and carried them in the pouch I made from my t-shirt. My shirt was originally red but had gotten smeared with dirt and what-not, so getting berry juice onto it won't really matter. I started thinking back to my previous life before all of this had happened. School duties, shopping and eating with friends... it seemed like a distant dream. Life was so peaceful; you didn't have to jump at every crack and sound.

The only dangers that could possibly take place at home were falling down the stairs or burning myself with a hot kettle. But that wasn't life-endangering at all. Out here, I had to be careful and be cautious. I had to strengthen my senses and keep my guard up.

By the time I had gotten back to the site, the sun was already quite high in the sky, signaling that it was perhaps mid-day or even past it. Sounds of snarling and growling could be heard down below as the wolves sparred each other. Pausing for just a moment to watch them, I couldn't help but notice that they've become smarter and faster. Instead of just attacking Athrun head-on, they would think of strategies that could possibly help.

My stomach suddenly moaned, reminding me that it was time for me to eat. Making my way through the cave, I paused and lowered myself to the ground, while gently tipping the berries over onto the cave floor. They toppled gently over each other before staying in place. "Took you long enough," a voice grumbled.

I looked up at the direction of the sound. Nicol opened his bright eyes so they looked at me. Pushing himself up with his good side, Nicol sat up and leaned against the wall, facing me. Then his eyes lowered as he noticed the berries that I had picked. Noticing his gaze, I split the berries into two groups and brushed them towards him. "Here, yours," I nodded towards the pile.

Nicol looked at the group of berries distastefully. "That's _all_ I get to eat? I wasn't expecting you to catch a fat juicy deer, but at least something with meat on it," he complained.

I scowled at him. He really sounded like a whiny spoiled brat. Here I was, getting pricked and scraped to get something for us to eat by my own hands and here he was complaining. If he wanted something better to eat, he should go himself. "I would go, if only I wasn't injured," Nicol retorted. "But as you can see-" he nodded towards his gravely wounded arm. "-that's not the case,"

I had forgotten that he could read minds... another annoying fact about this guy. I really cannot believe that I had once thought of him as 'angelic' with really nice eyes and cute features. But hey, appearances can be misleading and this one definitely fits the case. "Look here," I said, highly-exasperated. "Either you eat them or don't eat them. Your choice. But I'm not going back out there because for now, this is enough for me,"

We stared at each other intensely, waiting for the other to make the first move. When he said nothing, I sighed and started to bring his pile of berries to add them to mine when suddenly his hand slapped down on mine, like slapping a mosquito. I scowled at him as my hand stung. "What is it now?" I demanded. "You don't like berries, so I'm taking your share,"

Nicol shifted uncomfortably as he brought back his hand. "I don't like berries, but seeing that there's nothing else to eat at the moment... I'll take them," he mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear.

Looking at him in surprise, I watched as he brought the berries to his mouth one by one with an unhappy expression on his face. He stopped eating when he realized that I had been studying him. "What?" he snapped. "Never seen someone eat, stupid girl?"

I ignored him as I turned to my own pile and ate silently. Oh boy, the next few days will be so much fun...

_

* * *

Elsewhere..._ Heavy breathing could be heard echoing in the large room filled with nothing. Blood was splattered everywhere, coming from the figure who was leaning against the white cell wall. He had been punished. Punished for disobeying orders.

"_Hades, do you hear me?" a cold voice called through the speaker._

_Hades said nothing as he struggled to breathe. They had sent many electric jolts throughout his body, enough to kill an ordinary human. He was exhausted to the point of passing out, but he struggled to stay conscious. He couldn't be weak. "This is my last warning. I had clearly given out orders for you to capture another subject and return quickly, but instead, you ignored my orders and stayed out longer than necessary,"_

"_Not only that, but you caused me to lose a precious noble when you deserted him. Though he can be replaced, we had spent a great deal of time and money to create him into what he was. And where is he now? Most likely his body is lying somewhere while his remains are being devoured by others," Patrick continued. "We do not need of those who disobey. No matter whether you are the highest priority in our experiments or not, if you cannot obey, we will also dispose of you as we had done with the others,"_

_And with that, the man left the room, closing him into a blanket of whiteness._

Hades gritted his teeth. Being caged and having experiments being tested on him, he hated them all. All he wanted to do was fight that dark coated wolf again. He was not satisfied with leaving him with minor injuries. He wanted him to be dead. In this world, only the winners remain. If the other is still alive, then the battle is not considered to be complete. Now, while he was trapped in this place, he could not heal nor could he fight the dark coated wolf. The room he stayed in blocked off any moonlight from coming through and it was now unlikely that he would be sent out for the next little while.

As Hades' breathing slowly returned to normal, a shadow passed over him. Glancing in that direction, he saw a human girl entering the room that he was in. She turned to nod at the guardian who stood outside the door and soon, the door closed behind her. Hades scowled darkly at the girl, wanting her to go away. He had never seen her before, but he wanted her to know the feeling that she was not welcome anywhere near him. But the girl did not leave, instead, she stepped closer until her face was merely inches away from the transparent wall.

Feeling alarmed, Hades got onto his feet and bared his teeth at the girl as he studied her features. She had long flowing pink hair that fell down to her waist line. Large baby blue eyes watched him curiously as she studied him in return. The girl did not wear the uniform that humans who worked at the lab wore, meaning that she was merely a guest. Hades snapped his jaws at her as he felt as though he was an animal at a zoo, being watched, humiliated and trapped.

The girl blinked a few times as her head tilted back as though she was taken back by his ferocity. Then she recovered as an idea lit her face. Scrambling over to the other side of the room that Hades shared his cell with, but fenced off, sat the speaker that allowed the humans to talk to him and him in return. Hades watched the girl as she planted herself onto the chair and fumbled with the controls, testing each function. Finally, she managed to press the TALK button because with his excellent senses, he could hear her faint breathing very clearly.

"Hello," the girl spoke. "How do you do?"

The girl had a pleasant melodic voice. It was free of anger, resentment or any other negative emotion. Hades glared daggers at the girl as she watched for his reply. After a moment of silence, the girl seemed to realize something. "Oh right, sorry... I guess you can't really speak in your wolf form, can you?" she spoke again. "Why don't you change into your human self? That way, it'd be much easier to communicate,"

A snarl of warning came through Hades' throat. A stupid girl was wasting his time. She should just leave him alone. Unless ordered to, the humans who worked here generally avoided going near his room. This girl should not be an exception. The girl shrugged off his warning. "Well, if you don't want to talk to me, that's alright. You can listen to me instead," she said. "Let me introduce myself; I'm Lacus,"

"I don't work here, but my father's friend is the director here, so I'm able to come. You don't seem to get many visitors here... it must be really lonely. Is that the reason why you don't like to talk?"

Hades rolled his eyes as he slumped back onto the floor. So what if she was the daughter of the Director's friend? Like _that_ was special. The girl was rather talkative... more than the other humans who only spoke in murmurs and whispers. She talked about a lot of pointless things that took place in her life and by the time ten minutes had passed since her arrival, Hades could summarize up her lifestory.

Lacus was a sixteen year old human female whose illness explains the reason why her skin is so pale. She is allergic to sunlight and thus can only be active during the night. Lacus doesn't go to school like the other humans, but instead was home-schooled for as long as she could remember. Because of that reason, she didn't have any close friends. Her mother died when she was just a child and thus she was very close to her father. The list went on and on...

Groaning, Hades had given up on making her leave and hoped that the girl would lose interest and simply go away, because whatever he did wasn't helping. The girl had no friends and thus she was rather lonely, resulting in talking to him non-stop. As he began to block out her voice, suddenly, something caught his ears. "...Truthfully, my father and I are against this experimentation on living beings, but unfortunately, there's nothing we can do. Our family owes a lot to the director, so we couldn't refuse when father was asked to work here," Lacus explained sadly.

When Hades raised his head, Lacus took this as a sign that he wanted her to continue. "My father, you've probably seen him; Siegel Clyne. He is middle-aged with blond hair and an accompanying moustache that goes along with it. He is one of the scientists here,"

Indeed Hades knew the man. Unlike the rest of the humans, Hades couldn't help but notice the look of discomfort and pain that crosses the man's face whenever he was sent down to experiment on the subjects. It was as though he was unwilling to take part in the director's schemes. Hades had sometimes wondered about it, but now he knew why the man looked so troubled. But even though he felt guilty for his actions, Siegel still conducted the experiments that was asked of him. In the end, it was simple; all humans were lowly-beings.

As he was lost in thought, he realized that the girl was no longer there speaking to him. She had left without a word. Hades was surprised that she left so suddenly, it seemed as though she would be here forever. But it was better off this way; he could finally rest in peace without having a brainless human talk his ear off. Laying down on his side, Hades avoided resting on his back because that was where most of his injuries laid. As he closed his eyes against the bright light that shown down on him, he could hear faint murmuring outside the room between two people. One was a male and the other was a female.

Though he couldn't make of their conversation, by their tones, one sounded rather concerned and worried, while the other seemed rather relax and easy-going. Finally after a few short moments, the conversation ended and the door to his room clanged open. Hades paid the human no attention until the door to his cell sounded as the card slashed through the card slot, causing the door to open. Alerted, Hades sprung to his feet, ignoring any pain that went to his back. He watched as the girl from before, Lacus entered his lair. Growling, Hades' hackles raised as he stood his ground, warning her not to come any closer.

Instead of retreating like any normal human would, Lacus only paused for a moment before advancing once more. Eyes widening, Hades backed a few steps away as he kept his guard. _Stupid girl! Do you want to die by my hands so eagerly?_ He thought as he bared his fangs at her. He could kill her easily and painlessly, and yet she kept on advancing. As Hades braced himself for a leap, Lacus' sudden movement surprised him as she bent down. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a long roll of white fabric.

Scrunching his nose, Hades stared at her, while keeping his guard up. He snapped his jaws at her as she reached her hand out towards him. Lacus quickly drew her hand back. "You're injured," she said quietly. "Let me do the bandaging for you,"

Hades let out a fierce growl as he glared at the human girl in front of him. How dare she corner him? Was she not afraid of him? Her life could be taken away by him so easily but she contained no traces of fear in her eyes. Was it because she knew that even if he killed her, he would be caught shortly? Hades hated the idea of losing to the human girl. If he just gave her a scare, perhaps he would be lucky enough that the girl would just leave him alone.

Lunging forward, Hades snapped his jaws at her as he passed by, giving her more than just a graze. Hades watched as the girl winced at the pain and held her side. When she brought her hands up, they were coated with red liquid. Hades breathed heavily as he waited for her reaction towards him. Thinking it out logically, the girl would most likely run towards the exit screaming for help. But as he waited, he saw that she wasn't turning her back towards him, much less running towards the exit.

Her eyes moistened from the pain, but they were determined. Breathing heavily, Lacus spoke again, "Please, if you don't bandage your wounds, you won't get better,"

While one hand was holding her side where Hades had gotten her, the other was holding onto the roll of white fabric. "Even if you hate me, I still have to fix you up," she continued. "I told you earlier that my mother died when I was younger, but that's not the whole story,"

_

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Flashback... _

"_Mommy, thank you for bringing me out," a young Lacus had said._

_Her mother smiled kindly at her daughter whose small hand was wrapped around her own. "I'm always happy to. Since you can't go out during the day, it just means that we go during the night instead. Besides, the playground is emptier at night; you can play on whatever you want to without waiting for it," she told her. "Usually, I would get your father to drive us back, but truthfully, I enjoy walking in the night; it's very peaceful,"_

_Lacus smiled at her mother as they walked alongside the road. "You're right, it is very peaceful. There aren't very many cars now, does that mean that everyone is asleep?" she asked._

"_They may not be asleep, but most likely, they're at home. But there is the occasional stray car, so we have to be careful not to wander into the middle of the road, alright?" Her mother answered._

_Lacus had happily agreed as she swung hers and her mother's arm in the night as they walked home. Everything was extremely peaceful, but it did not last. Like her mother had said, there were occasional stray cars and that night, there was a pair who decided to car race down the deserted road without a thought that perhaps there would be people out this late. It was all too sudden and as a bright light shone into her bright eyes, Lacus could hear her mother scream her name. _

_End of flashback._

* * *

"Mother had pushed me out of the way, causing me to roll down the grassy hill that was down below. As I rushed back up the hill, due to my fragility, I fell and slipped down several times before I reached the top. When I had gotten back to her, I saw that there was a pool of red blood beneath my mother's body. She was gravely wounded and was barely grasping onto her life,"

"That night, I ran, running faster than I ever did. Forgetting the fact that my body was weak, I reached home within a few minutes. My father was waiting for me at the doorstep. He smiled as he saw me return, but that smile faded slowly as he realized that I was crying. I quickly told him all that has happened and we called an ambulance immediately. However, by the time they got down there, mother had lost too much blood.."

Hades kept quiet as he listened to her talk. Unlike the previous conversation they had, well, one-way conversation, this one seemed to be more emotionally-based as Lacus poured her feelings into her voice. As he watched her, he noticed several droplets of liquid flow down her face, though her eyes were hidden beneath her hair. Staring at the droplets of water, Hades forgot about making the human girl go away. The droplets were as clear as water, but yet at the same time, Hades knew that they weren't water.

Realizing what was happening, Lacus quickly brushed them away as her eyes met his. Looking at the human girl, Hades did not know what to feel or to think. Unlike before, he didn't feel angry or any other emotion he usually felt. "S-so, please, let me bandage your injuries before you get wounded even further," Lacus pleaded as she held up the roll of white fabric.

This time, Hades did not protest and seeing that he was more obeying now, Lacus slowly brought up her hand towards him. She paused when her hand was just inches away from his head, as though hesitant, before placing it down onto his furry head. Gently, she stroked his head, his soft fur slipping beneath her fingers.

Though he had been surprised at first, Hades grew accustomed to the strange feeling he felt as the human girl stroked him. Strangely, he felt something unusual that he had never felt before. He felt as though he had nothing to worry about and maybe even felt calm at her touch. Before he knew it, Hades switched into his other form and his arms and legs collapsed beneath him. His head fell onto something soft and warm and closed his eyes and blurry colors danced in his mind.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I found it rather difficult to keep Hades' (Kira's) personality in check, but hopefully, it wasn't too bad. Though he is rather wild at times, he does think and feel. Due to a request, I tried to make Lacus slightly different than the character in the series. But nevertheless, she is still a kind and caring person. The reason why I split the chapter into two parts is that while the readers know what is going on with Cagalli and Athrun (not so much Athrun here... but you get my point) but know what is happening to Kira at the same time they're going through that. Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too bad, since a lot of things came to my mind last minute and didn't really get the time to carefully process it all. If something needs to be changed, please let me know. But other than that, thanks for reading and look forward to the next update.**


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